Everyday Average Ordinary
by Earth Blues Baby
Summary: 17 JULY 2011: UPDATED. The Titans are regular kids at high school. When they all get detention the same night, something strange is bound to happen. But one stormy night may prove that 'something' is more than anyone could imagine. starrob bbrae cybee
1. Default Chapter

**Everyday Average Ordinary**

**A/N: Yay! It worked! All right, this is my first ever fanfic. It is an AU where the Titans are just kids at high school. Here is a list of the Titans and the names they have in the fanfic:**

**Robin: Dick Grayson  
Cyborg: Victor Stone  
Starfire: Kori Anders  
Beast Boy: Garfield (Gar) Logan  
Raven: Rae Roth  
Bumblebee: Beatrice (Bea) Nallan  
Speedy: Rob Harper  
Mammoth: Matt Teth  
Atlas: Allan Ross  
Aqualad: Gil Santher**

**Well, I hope you like it. There's not really any fluff in the first chapter, but no worries, it'll come in the second and beyond! Here you go...**

**Disclaimer: I don't own the Teen Titans. I frighten small children. I don't own a toothbrush. I'm not the norm. Yeah, anybody who's a Chris Farley fan knows where I'm going. Woo! Farley fans unite! Anyways, those of you who are slightly disturbed, its one of his Saturday Night Live skits...moving on...**

_Chapter One_

_Brrrrriiiiiinnnnnnggggg!_ The shrill bell at Jump City High School rang noisily. Students began streaming into different classroom doors, all ready to resume school once more.

In Room 207, junior student Dick Grayson quickly sat up towards the front of the classroom. He was in his advanced math class, probably his favorite class of the day. The average-height boy had spiky black hair, big glasses with black frames, and wore a red sweatshirt and green cargo pants.

"Please, students, simmer down now," said the math teacher, Mr. James. The 50-somehting teacher ushered the students to their seats, everyone groaning slightly and putting their binders into the desks. After taking attendance, Mr. James turned to the chalkboard and started writing formulas on the board.

Dick began scrawling down notes on his paper. Mr. James was going fast and he was probably the only student in the class able to keep up.

"All right," the old math teacher announced. "Now for a short review." A chorus of groans sounded out from the classroom as sheets of paper were handed out to each student. Dick looked down at the first question. The Pythagorean Therum, triangulation, and advanced calculus looked back at him.

"Piece of cake," Dick muttered as he scribbled down some equations.

"Hey…" Dick squared the x value…

"You! Dick!" The spoken of boy turned around, immediately wishing he hadn't.

Sitting behind him was Matt Teth and Allan Ross. The two were the biggest bullies at Jump City High School. Matt was a huge, bulking mass of a man, all brawn and no brain. His best friend, Allan, was also large, though not quite as big as Matt, but had two digits in his IQ to Matt's one. Allan was also hyper-competitive and egotistical.

"What's question one?" Matt muttered under his breath. Dick just turned around and tried to get back to work.

"You!" Allan then called something that made his eyes widen slightly. He took a deep breath and gritted his teeth. Something hit him in the back of the head.

"Leave me alone!" Dick hissed through his teeth. Matt grinned slightly.

"Sure thing, buddy. Just tell me what one is." Allan smiled as well.

"No! Just let me be. Do it yourself!" Dick was starting to get really angry.

"It's just a simple number. Let's hear it-" Allan started trying to reason with Dick, but was cut off by a very mad sounding Mr. James.

"Mr. Grayson! Why, of all people. Certainly, I would have expected this from Mr. Teth and Mr. Ross, but Dick, my best student! Cheating!" Dick's jaw hung open slightly.

"Mr. James, I wasn't cheating, I-" Before he had a chance to explain, Mr. James swooped up all three of their papers and said,

"Detention. After school. All three of you." Matt and Allan just groaned, but Dick felt his face grow hot. Detention. He never so much as got a warning in class. Ever. And now he was going to detention for something that wasn't even his fault.

"All right, good job Bryant! Keep it up!" Victor threw the football back to his linebacker and continued in on the drill.

The Jump City High School football team was currently running practice on the field. The large players were running drills and plays, and Victor was loving it. Football was his passion. He had been playing it since he could remember. As soon as a football team was available, he started in on it. He practiced twice as hard as anyone else, and was more committed to it than his schoolwork, often causing him to slip below average. In his junior year, Victor was made captain of the football team, and had become even more devoted to it then. He was a tall, muscular man who seemed to literally be built for football. He was in his senior year and had many scouts looking for him to play college.

"Stone! Here! Now!" Victor turned around to see Coach Malloy, motioning for him to join him outside of the locker room. Victor jogged over, grinning.

"Hey, Coach. What's up?" His grin faltered slightly as he saw the dark expression that covered Malloy's face.

"Stone. We need to talk," he said sternly.

"Sure thing, Coach. What is it?" Victor felt slightly uneasy inside, like he was about to be told he wasn't doing good enough. He hated whenever anything like that happened.

"It's about your grades." Victor immediately frowned. He thought he knew what was coming next. "Stone, you're slipping under. Now, normally your grades have been fair. Not great, but good enough to keep you on the team. Right now you've got mostly C+s and B-s. Except for the A's in PE and tech." Victor put on a smile.

"So we're good, right?" He started jogging in place, anxious to get back to running the drills.

"No. We're not. Stone, I was talking to Ms. Beverly, you're English teacher, earlier today. You're pulling a D+ in her class." Victor stopped running, but didn't say anything.

"Stone, I can't keep you on the team. You need a passing grade in each of your classes. Look, our first game isn't for two weeks. If you can pull your grade up, even to a C-, then I can put you back on the team. But, for now, you're benched, and you've got detention."

"What? Coach, c'mon, you can't do this to me!" Victor pleaded. "Football…well…it's my life! You can't bench me!" Coach looked down slightly, putting his hand on the captain's shoulder.

"I'm sorry Stone. We need you. You're an excellent player and a wonderful captain. But I gotta do it. Just get that grade up, okay, Stone? We need you." Victor sighed, looking at the ground.

"You can go suit down now."

"Yessir."

Three girls sat in the back of the classroom, all in a row. They were the It Girls. The in crowd ones, the popular girls who everyone wanted a part of. They were Bea Allan, Kori Anders and Kitten Moore. Bea was a tall girl with dark skin, curly black hair and big hazel eyes. She was the captain of the cheerleading squad and known for her trademark attitude. To her right was Kori Anders, an equally tall redheaded girl with bright green eyes and tan skin. She had previously moved to Jump City from a small European country, Tamaran. To Bea's left was Kitten Moore, an average-height blond girl with fair skin and big blue eyes. Kitten was known as the meanest of the trio, materialistic and bratty.

Bea looked at her French teacher, making sure that she was still looking at the board. She expertly kept her eyes on the teacher, while drawing her hand under her chair and towards Kori's. The redheaded girl brought her hand down and picked the slip of paper up. She unfolded it in her lap and began to read it.

As soon as Madame turned her attention to another student, Kori quickly began to scribble a reply to the note. She then passed it to Bea, and received one from Kitten. All three girls were experts at this process, having done it every day in every class they had together.

Kitten began to pass Bea a note.

"Kitten Moore!" All three girls jumped into the air as Madame stormed over to them.

"Let me see that." Madame drew out her hand, snapping it and glaring at Kitten.

"I don't know what you're talking about," Kitten said sweetly, blinking her baby blue eyes a few times.

"Cut the act, Miss Moore. I want the note." Kitten bit her lip, looking at Bea and Kori. They looked flustered and had blushes growing on their faces. Kitten sighed, but handed over the note.

"Hm…you too, eh, Bea? And Miss Anders! You know, girls, this is getting out of hand. This is the third day in a row I've had to deal with this," Madame said sternly.

"We're sorry, we-" Kori started, but was interrupted by the French teacher. She quickly said,

"Detention. All three of you. Enjoy it." She then turned her back on the three gaping cheerleaders.

"Bye, Mr. Evers," Rae waved as she walked out of the door. The art teacher looked up and smiled warmly at his best student.

"Good-bye, Rae. Have a wonderful day." He waved as well.

"Thanks, Mr. Evers. You too." Rae Roth then turned and headed for her next class. She looked at the ground, deep in thought, and trudged along, taking careful measure not to touch anyone or make eye contact with them. Rae was a small girl, short for her age and a petite frame. She had pale skin, large indigo eyes, and lavender colored hair. She was wearing dark colored jeans and an oversized baggy black sweatshirt.

The girl walked silently through the door to the girls' locker room. She quickly changed in her corner, trying not to draw too much attention to herself. She filed out with the others, and sat in her spot in PE. She sighed, wishing she was still in art class.

Art was Rae's love. She could sit for hours in front of a canvas, or with a hunk of clay, or ceramics. Anything. She could make anything and everything beautiful. She had been involved in the arts for as long as she could remember. She excelled at it, while, her least favorite subject, PE, she just couldn't get. The teacher was constantly making them run laps or do push-ups or sit-ups. Rae did well at them, the teacher, Mr. Holland, just didn't seem to like her much.

"All right, class, pay attention! We're doing basketball today. But, we don't have enough basketballs, so A-M are going to do 2 on 2 first, while N-Z does laps."

"What? Not enough basketballs!" Rob Harper shouted out. He was a tall boy with bright red hair and green eyes. He had a lean physique, and was the star of the school track team. An easy favorite for a teacher like Mr. Holland. "That's ridiculous!"

"I agree, Harper. But don't worry. We're taking some of the art departments funds to pay for some more." Rae's cheeks went warm.

"What?" She spat out. Some students turned to look, surprised that the brooding artist Rae Roth so much as uttered a sound. "That's an outrage! The art department _needs _those funds! There's hardly enough hairs on the ten paintbrushes we have to make one decent one!" Some kids snickered.

"Well, that's not my problem." Mr. Holland said.

"It should be! You can't take the funds! Mr. Evers needs them! I need them! This is an outrage!" Rae shouted.

"Look, chill. We don't have enough basketballs. It's not going to kill your precious art department if we take some cash from it," Rob said, shrugging his shoulders.

"How could you say that? What if we just started taking money from the PE's budget?" Rae said. Most of the students had began to play basketball or run laps, all except Rob and Rae, who were standing across from each other.

"You can't do that though, cause I'm in ASB and I voted to take some from the art budget. So tough luck, sweetheart," Rob whispered, leaning down towards Rae's face and grinning a small evil smile. She felt her cheeks grow warm once more. She muttered something under her breath, glared, and then leapt on Rob. She tackled him to the ground, and started punching him and calling him choice words and phrases. Everyone stopped to watch as tiny little Rae took out Rob Harper, star athlete.

"Hey! Hey, c'mon, Roth, off of Harper!" Mr. Holland ran over, blowing his whistle. He picked a still kicking and punching Rae. Rob scuttled backwards, then stood up.

"This is ridiculous. I've seen third graders more mature. C'mon, Harper, this is unbelievable. Detention to the both of you." Rob and Rae stood there, mouths agape and staring at the PE teacher. Rae then repeated some of the words under her breath to Rob once more.

Gar Logan quietly ducked around a corner and peeked down the hallway. No one was coming. Grinning to himself, the boy darted around the second corner, hiding in the shadows.

Gar was an average height boy, but was pretty skinny. He was long and lanky, with moppy hair that he dyed green, olive skin (a/n: get it? Olive skin? Cause you can have olive skin that's tan, but then there's olive green. And BB has green skin…okay, stopping now. Sigh.) and jungle green eyes.

He was known at his school to be a prankster. He always had a joke at the ready, and provided humor for Jump City High School, mostly at the expense of others. He was often rendered immature, though, and seemed to concentrate more on getting a few laughs than a passing grade.

Currently he was skipping Biology to pull this one off. He didn't really care though. He hated Biology. They were probably dissecting a frog or something. A vegetarian and strong animal rights activist, that was one thing Gar Logan refused to do.

The boy ducked around a corner until he came to the door of the Teachers Lounge. He pulled out a lock pick from his pocket and got to work. Once the door came undone, he silently slipped through and dove behind the couch.

If he had one thing going for him, though, it was his creativity. Gar excelled at subjects like shop because of it. He always made inventions and devices that were complex and intricate, but seemed like a piece of cake to him.

Gar pulled one of these trinkets out of his pocket. He pressed a button in the middle, and waited for his brainchild to erupt.

"EeeeeeeAAAAHHH!" A feminine wail sounded out, and a loud eruption of running water could be heard. Gar tried to hold back giggles. He did it. He got back at Miss O'Malley, the cranky old Drama teacher. He waited to see her race by. But his face lost color as he saw whom it was.

A soaked Mrs. Anderson walked by. Beast Boy gulped as he looked at the drenched principal.

"Garfield Logan I know you're behind this!" She roared as she pushed her wet hair behind her ears. "Get out here this instant and I may not bring your parents into this!" Gar did as he was told. His mom and dad were already on his case about his most recent failing math grade, and he couldn't afford anything else.

"Garfield Logan, explain yourself right now. How on earth did that toilet explode?" Mrs. Anderson gestured behind her where water was flowing out of the bathroom. Gar giggled slightly.

"Well, you see, it's not my fault. Today when I was walking to school I saw a UFO over the school and it was a colony of brainwashing toilet people who were trying to flood the earth, and-" Mrs. Anderson held up her hand to stop him.

"I've heard enough. Garfield, if you could only use all of that energy and creativity for a positive use, then think of how great you could be." She sighed.

"Right, I'll work on that," Gar said. "In fact, I think I'll start right now-" Mrs. Anderson held up her hand, sternly saying,

"You're going to start on it, all right, Mr. Logan. Right after detention you'll start."

**A/N: All right! First chappie down! You all know what to do! Read and review! I really want to know what you thought about this. Please try to tell me as much as you can about my story, what you liked about it, and what I could improve on. I'm new at this thing, so I could use it. I'm going to try to update it as soon as possible. I've got an idea for the second chapter, but still want to tweak parts of it. Well, thanks for taking the time to read this for me! I hope you enjoyed it! Leave a review, everyone who read it. I want to hear what you have to say! Thanks! Rock on-**

**-Earth Blues Baby **


	2. Chapter Two

**Everyday Average Ordinary: Chapter Two**

**A/N: Hey, I got reviews!**

**Okay, second one down! By the way, fluff begins in this chapter! Not as much as to come, but it's a sweet start.:) The couples are going to be Bea and Victor, and then Kori and Dick (Kitten likes Dick too though) and Gar and Rae. (But, heck, I'm feeling crazy so I think I'll throw Rob in that equation.) Well, enjoy!**

**Review Responses:**

**Skykit: Hey man, that's your opinion and that's totally cool. We got enough hate in this world already, right? This is an AU fic, so I don't think they're going to get powers. Having the normal Titans get superpowers is an awesome idea though. If you love Teen Titans and dig the idea, I say go for it man. Thanks for your time and honest thoughts man. Peace and rock on.**

**Mrmistoffelees: Hey sweet a second review! Hey I'm glad you liked the story. Glad to have brought a smile to your face, my friend. Now when I update I'll think of you. Peace and rock on.**

**Fallen Dove: Hey thanks for the review and your time. Thanks for putting me on your fave story list, that's a major compliment my friend. I'll update soon, no worries. Thanks, peace and rock on.**

**Rose: Hey man chill. No worries, no hate here. Starfire is actually one of my fave characters too. I love how she is always positive and kind. We need more people just to love. No problem with the couples, I was going to use the ones you suggested- robstar, bbrae and cybee. I'm probably going to throw in some Kitten and Speedy (not together though) stuff. I don't know if Larry is going to be in the story, but I can try to work him in just for you, if you want. Let me know man, and you two can be a couple if you dig.:) Thanks for your awesome review. Peace and rock on.**

**Disclaimer: I don't own Teen Titans. I'll put it on my to-do list though.**

**Chapter Two**

Dick looked at the clock in the library. He was in Study Hall right now, and absolutely loathing the fact that there was only two minutes left of class. He hadn't forgotten that he had detention after school…

He scowled to himself. How on earth did he, Dick Grayson, who never got lower than a 105, wind up in detention? He shook his head as he thought about this.

"All right ladies and gentlemen, another week completed. I hope you have a wonderful weekend and I'll see you all on Monday," said his homeroom teacher, Mrs. Windger. The bell rung again and the excited students leapt from their seats and ran outside to the hallways and their lockers, anxious to start in on their Friday afternoon. With a sigh, Dick stood up and headed out for his locker.

"Good-bye Dick, have a wonderful weekend," Mrs. Windger said brightly, smiling at her favorite student.

"Yeah. Same to you." Dick said as he slowly trudged out. His head was hung low and headed out to his locker. As he studied the print in the floor, he felt something very hard run into his shoulder. Dick let out a grunt of surprise and looked up (way up) to see Victor Stone, football captain. He didn't bother to apologize, just continued on with the faraway look in his eyes.

Dick turned the corner, jumping to the wall quickly to avoid being mauled by a tight grouping of students milling to their lockers. The group didn't have a bunch of individual faces, just one name: the popular group. They flocked together and could never move five feet without at least seven other people.

Dick approached his locker, where he saw one of his best friends, Gil Santher, unwinding the lock on his locker.

"Hey Dick! How's it going?" Gil asked. Dick sighed slightly, moaning,

"Yeah. What about you?" He started spinning in the combination.

"Good. Hey, guess what! You know Rae Roth?" Gil asked as he pulled open his locker door.

"Know the name, not the face," Dick said.

"Same grade as us. Think she's got Samuels. Pretty short. Small girl. She's got really big eyes and purple hair."

"Oh yeah. Her. What about her?" Dick said, purple hair registering in his head. She was the only kid at Jump City High School with that tone of hair.

"She- whoa. Dude. What. Is. That?" Gil asked when he saw the detention notice flutter out of Dick's locker. Dick looked down and scooped it up.

"I got detention thanks to those idiots Teth and Ross. James said I was cheating and I was just telling them to get lost." Gil tried his best to suppress a smile. He said in a slow voice,

"Oh, well how the mighty have fallen. Oh well. Least I'll have company!" Gil was referring to the fact that he had detention for cutting math last week. He had been given a week of detention and was serving his last day today.

"You ready to go or not, imbecile?" Dick said, slamming his locker shut and heading down the hallway. Gil jogged alongside him.

"Yeah, lets go. I'm glad I'm almost over with this. I can get back to swim team practice." Gil was the freestyle star of JCH's swim team.

The pair of friends moved on until they came to the bottom level of the school. They moved down the hallway until they came to room 119, where detention was regularly held. The two opened it up, to find one other student in there.

The boy looked up, revealing a pair of green eyes, shining with mischief. He gave a lopsided grin, saying,

"What you in for?" Dick scowled and sat down in the back corner. Gar rolled his eyes. Some people just didn't know how to have fun.

"So, you get caught or was it-" The jovial prankster began to ask, but Dick snapped back,

"Look. I sit here. You sit there. We don't talk, and this will all be over soon." Gil shrugged apologetically and sat down next to his best friend. Gar rolled his eyes and

propped his feet up on his desk. He watched the clock. Detention officially began in ten minutes.

The door swung open to reveal another student. He was a tall, muscular man, and was probably a senior. He had gray eyes that were staring dazed somewhere other than here, and was wearing a red football jacket. It registered in Gar's head that he was Victor Stone, football team captain.

Victor silently walked to the other corner, pulling the chair and sinking down on the desk.

Two minutes later the door opened once again. This time, a girl walked in. Gar's eyes widened as he saw her. She looked up, revealing beautiful, big sparkling amethysts of eyes. They gazed around the room, searching for a place to sit. Gar hoped that she would take a seat next to him. Then again, his heart was already thumping like mad in his chest; if he got any closer to him it would probably leap out his throat.

The girl clutched a few books to her chest, and looked around the room.Gar seemed mesmerized.Her eyes locked in with his. Gar's heart stopped beating. She began to walk over, but then sat a few rows ahead of him. A vanilla lilac fragrance floated over to him. He seemed to have fallen under a spell…

Dick looked up from his book to look around the room. Gil was playing with a pencil, Gar was staring at the girl sitting in front of him, who was sketching on a piece of paper. In the corner, the muscular guy was staring blankly into space. Dick looked up as the door opened once more.

Victor snapped out of his daze as he saw the girl who walked through the door. He knew who she was. She was Bea Nallan, captain of the cheer squad. He had seen her at every game, and had always tried to impress her. But he never got so much as a hello outside of games. She was wearing a yellow tank top and black capris, and donning a pair of black pumps. As usual, she looked beautiful to Victor. Behind her, another girl walked in. She was shorter than Bea, with blond hair loosely hanging around her shoulders. She was wearing a light pink sweater and a super-short hot pink pleated skirt, as well as a pair of pink high-heels. She looked around the room, eyes stopping on Dick. A small flirty grin fell on her face.

Dick saw it. He averted his eyes. They ended up falling on the girl who followed the blond through the door. Dick gasped to himself.

The girl was tall, with long, red hair that hung to her waist. She had dazzling green eyes, full of curiosity. She had tan skin, accentuated nicely with her ruby red lips. She was wearing a white tee shirt with the Casablanca movie poster on it, and a jean skirt. She was wearing a pair of sandals, reveling her orange painted toes. The three girls walked to the front corned of the classroom, where they sat down and began to complain about how bad detention was. Gil smiled as he noticed that the blond and redhead's eyes kept fluttering over to Dick. His best friend. Catching the eyes of not one, but two cheerleaders.

The door opened once more, revealing the last student on the detention list. Rob Harper. The tall athletically built runner scanned the room quickly. He wound up walking over and taking a seat in the corner in front of Victor. There was an absolute silence in the room.

Right before Gar was about to say something to lighten the mood, the door opened again, revealing the old, cranky assistant principal, Mr. Keese. He was fairly short, with a balding head and a slight gray beard.

"Hello students. Let's see, is everyone here…" Mr. Keese droned, looking down at the day's detention list. He called out all the names, and scowled when he saw that Matt Teth and Allan Ross were gone.

"Well. At least _we're_ all together." The old man smiled sarcastically, turning towards the door. "If you don't mind, I'm going to get a coffee from the teacher's lounge. I'm going to need one if I'm stuck in a room with a bunch of delinquents." Mr. Keese then turned and headed out the door.

Gar launched up from his seat. "All right, everybody spill. What are y'all in for? Like you!" He pointed at Dick. "You're supposed to be super smart! So why are you in here?" The attention of the room was turned towards Dick, and he sunk slightly in his chair.

"I- well, it's not my fault! Those jerks Matt Teth and Allan Ross were trying to cheat off me, and James thought I was feeding them answers so he gave me detention."

"Oh my gosh, I am so sorry," Kitten said in an overly sympathetic voice that made the room cringe.

"Hey, yeah, you guys too! How did cheerleaders wind up in detention?" Gar asked. "Aren't you supposed to be, like, I don't know. Immune from normal people stuff?" Bea rolled her eyes.

"We got in here for passing notes. It was ridiculous." Kitten flipped her hair.

"And, yes, normally, stuff like this doesn't happen to people like _us._" She smirked cockily. The mood in the room seemed to darken. Kitten looked around and continued. "Rob, Victor! Captain of the football team and legendary runner. How'd you wind up in here? Same prejudice as us?" Kitten asked, giving herself way too much credit. Victor snapped out of his daze on Bea.

"Got a D+ in English. Can't play football until I get it back up, and I've got detention to boot." The football captain sighed.

"I'm sorry," Bea apologized, mustering much more sincerity than Kitten did.

"What about you, Rob?" Kori asked. The runner blushed slightly.

"I…uh. Got in a fight."

Rae rolled her eyes. "I beat him up." Rob's blush deepened. Gil, Gar, Kitten, Dick, Victor and Bea began laughing freely, while Kori politely tried to suppress her giggles.

Between his laughs, Victor managed to choke out, "Rob, you got beat up by a girl half your size?" Rob's cheeks were on fire and he spat out,

"It's not like that!"

Kitten managed to ask, "Why'd you beat him up?" Rae shrugged her shoulder and said,

"He wanted to take funds from art. I was defending what I believe in."

"Well, all right," Bea said, giving a smile of approval to the girl. She turned her attention to Gar.

"You're Gar Logan, right?" She asked. Gar nodded. "Why did you get detention?"

"Made a toilet explode," he said casually with a lazy shrug of his shoulder.

"How did you do _that?_" Rae asked, turning around to face him. Gar's heart started doing double time. Her eyes were so deep…He tried to put some words together but the connection between his brain and his tongue seemed to be disconnected.

"I…uh…eyes-I! I, I, I…just rigged it…yeah. Anderson ran out screaming about how a lady couldn't even wash her hands with Gar Logan on the loose…" He rubbed the back of his head as he felt warmth hit his cheeks. He laughed lightly for good measure.

Rae looked at him strangely, but didn't ask any more questions.

"You got the _principal _with a toilet? Man, you _are_ a legend," Victor said with a whistle as he leaned back in his chair. Gar grinned proudly.

"Well," Gil said, leaning back and putting his feet on his desk. "Now that' we've all met-"

"Gil Santher. Swim team, right?" Kori asked, pointing at him. Gil nodded.

"Yeah. Little surprised when I was left out of the athletic ring there." Kitten rolled

her carefully lined eyes.

"Swim team, duh. That's lower on the social ladder than football and track. Duh. Still, being athletic _does _give you an extra boost, so, go ahead and talk to us, Gil. What'd you do?" She asked, raising her eyebrows. Gil rolled his dark eyes.

"I cut class. Nothing special. I didn't make any toilets blow up or anything. I-" All eyes turned to see the door swing open and Mr. Keese walk through.

"Well. Now that that's in order. Welcome to detention. Your punishment officially begins…now."

There was a half hour left of detention. Outside, the weather seemed to match the gloomy attitude of all nine students serving detention. Ominous clouds had rolled in about fifteen minutes after they all had arrived. The clouds turned out to carry a storm with them. Thick, bitter raindrops hailed down on Jump City, and thunder and lightning occasionally boomed and flickered. The rain stung the windowpanes, causing a chill in the room. Outside, the big trees in JCH's lawn were being thrown around by the merciless wind.

"Well," Mr. Keese announced, standing up and putting on his jacket. "Five minutes left. I'm going to get a head start on traffic and head out a little bit early," he said. Kitten's mouth gaped open.

"You're just leaving us alone? I mean, there's nobody else here! What if we end up locked in?"

Kori seemed equally as terrified. "Yes! And it is Friday, so we'd be here until Monday!" Mr. Keese smiled.

"Nonsense. Edward, the janitor, is still here. Well, see you all on Monday. Hopefully not here again. Make good choices." With that the old man turned and left.

"Whoa, he left us. I heard he was icy, but…whoa," Victor said, one eyebrow rose slightly.

"Oh well, we can leave as soon as we hear his car pull away." Gar said cheerily, standing up and grabbing his backpack and walking forward. He accidentally on purpose stopped as he passed Rae though.

"Sounds good to me," Rob said, standing up and stretching. He headed for the door. "It was nice meeting all of you." His voice hinted at sarcasm. "Dick, try a hobby. Girls, Victor, see you at the next party. Gar, you're strange. And Rae," Rob winked. "Call me."

Rae rolled her eyes, Gar became flustered, Dick clenched his jaw, and Kitten checked her make-up in a compact. All nine stood up, ready to leave. All hesitated a moment, knowing that being in high school they probably wouldn't talk to each other any time after this. Kitten made the first move, and the rest slowly followed suit.

The group grabbed their bags and started to the door. The bell rang, signaling seven o'clock.

The lights went out. The room was engulfed by the complete absence of light. A high-pitched scream came out. There was the sound of someone falling out of a chair. Time seemed to hang still.

"What happened?" Bea's voice called out from the pitch black that had engulfed the room, wavering and thin. "This isn't funny! Turn the lights back on right now!"

The lighting returned to the room. Dick was breathing slightly harder, Bea and Kori were hugging each other, Kitten was cowering behind her chair, Rob was holding his head, Victor and his chair were in a pile on the floor, and Gar had pulled Rae close to him. The two blushed furiously when they realized this and quickly separated.

"Whatever. I-" Kori started, but then looked around the room. "Hey. Where's Gil?" Eight heads then looked around the room, seeing nothing.

"Hey, man, this isn't funny," Dick said, checking a closet. He was nowhere. They called his name, searched every hiding place, but came up with nothing.

Gil Santher had disappeared.

**A/N: Wooooh, cliffie. Hope you liked it. There wasn't too much fluff, but oh well. I think it was still kinda cute. Well, you know what to do: read and review! Please!I love hearing from all of you! So, you know, that button is only a click away. Thanks! Oh yeah, and check out my other fic, 'The Misadventure of the Titans!" Thanks, peace, and rock on-**

**Earth Blues Baby**


	3. Chapter Three

**Everyday Average Ordinary, Chapter Three**

**A/N: Whoa! I got lots of feedback from you! Thanks so much! I'm really glad that you guys like my story! First off, I would just like to say that I love hearing from you all so much. I look forward to reading your thoughts and reviews so much! I hope that all of you have reviewed will stay with me and continue to review the continuation of this story! That'd be awesome man! Oh yeah, I'm probably going to have more updates towards the beginning of this story because I'm currently ill and at home. Also, my Spring Break is next week and I'm staying Home Sweet Home. Thanks everyone! Peace and rock on! **

**Review Responses: (first off, whoa, everybody, thanks so much! I can't believe I got so many reviews!)**

**TitansFan/Shelly:** Hey, I'm glad you're enjoying this! I love mysteries too; glad you're digging this. You're review was awesome, thanks! Yeah, the teacher left for the sake of the story, but, hey, it's all good! Glad to hear from you and that you like my story. Thanks for your time and thoughts. Peace and rock on!

**Jackalobe/Rose:** Hey, thanks, once again, for reviewing my story! That's cool that you're reviewing again! Thanks for the compliments! I'm glad that you're into it, even when not a ton has happened yet. Well, Dick's character is basically the hardcore achiever, who strives for excellence. I'm not sure what Gil's full name might be…if anybody has any ideas I'd like to hear them! And sorry about you getting detention for no reason, man. Some things are weird and can get you down, but you just got to roll with it. Keep a positive attitude because the worlds gonna keep spinning. And I don't mind hearing about your life, everybody's got a story to tell and I'm willing to listen. And thanks for your personal compliment. Can I get another amen for peace and love! I think you sound very awesome too. Peace and rock on, my friend!

**ILUVCLTT:** Hey, thanks, that's cool that you dig my story. Glad to see that you're excited about it. I'd really like to hear more from you, and I really hope that you like this next chapter. I loved hearing from you and thanks for your review my friend. Peace and rock on!

**Starfire-is-not-a-wimp:** Hey, I agree. I think that she's awesome. That's cool she chooses to love rather than to resort to violence. It's very admirable, even if she is just a cartoon character.:) I'm glad that you like the story, if you dig suspense then you'll probably like this chapter, my friend! That's cool that you had the same kind of idea, man. I hope you dig this chapter, and I hope to hear from you again. Thanks a lot! Peace and rock on!

**BoB:** Hey thank you for your time and review! Glad you like my story man! Enjoy this chapter. Hope to hear from you again. Peace and rock on!

**xox.Annie Potter.xox:** Hey, I'm glad you decided to read it! I hope you stay a fan of my story! Thank you for not only choosing to read it, but also reviewing it! That's awesome, thanks! Peace and rock on!

**Starandrobin4everfan:** I'll try to update as often as I can! Thank you for reviewing my story! It's got some Star/Rob fluff, so I'm sure you'll dig it.:) Hope you have a good time reading it and I hope you send another review! Thanks so much! Peace and rock on!

**Here it is: Chapter Three!**

**Disclaimer: Alas, I do not own the Teen Titans, but enjoy watching it on Saturdays. **

**Chapter Three**

_"Whatever. I-" Kori started, but then looked around the room. "Hey. Where's Gil?" Eight heads then looked around the room, seeing nothing. _

_"Hey, man, this isn't funny," Dick said, checking a closet. He was nowhere. They called his name, searched every hiding place, but came up with nothing. _

_Gil Santher had disappeared. _

Bea's eyes grew in size and her lips quivered. "Wh-wh-where is he?" She and Kori were still hugging each other, and the redheaded girl squeaked out,

"People don't just disappear, right?"

Victor started waving his hands out in front of him. "Calm down. He may have just…" The football captain started mumbling, not able to finish his sentence.

"There has to be a reasonable explanation for this," Rae said, crossing her arms. "People _do not_ disappear. He probably left, like Gar suggested we all do."

Bea's eyes lit up once more. "Hey, yeah! C'mon, guys, let's go check! He might still be in the parking lot!" With that, the eight ran out through the door and down the hallways. They passed lockers, doors and other hallways until they came to the front entrance. Rob, being the fastest, was the first to arrive, and reached for the handle. He pulled on it, finding it didn't move.

Victor was the next to arrive. "Try the other one, man," he said, slightly out of breath. Rob tugged on it as the rest of the group arrived, panting lightly.

"They…won't…move," Rob grunted, tugging with all his strength on the doors.

"Let Victor try!" Kitten whined, cowering behind Bea and Kori. Victor nodded and walked up, tugging and yanking on the handles.

"They're locked tight," he announced. "They're not going to move." There was a pause, where the only thing to be heard was the rain trickling outside, the faint booming of thunder, and the rustling of the leaves being whipped by the harsh and bitter wind.

"Let's try the back entrance!" Gar announced, breaking the silence. The group headed towards the other end of the school. They found that those doors were also locked.

"There has to be a way out of here!" Rob yelled, voice escalated with frustration. "Try every door you can find!" The group split up and ran to every door. They found that each one was locked. They ran into each other back at the detention room.

"Rae, you were wrong!" Bea wailed. "He couldn't leave because all the doors are locked!"

"That seems kind of strange…" Dick said. "Didn't Mr. Keefe say that the janitor was still here? He couldn't have locked every door and left by now." The boy looked at the floor in concentration.

"What do we do then?" Kori whispered in a barely audible voice. At that time, the lights in the room slowly started to flicker in pulses.

"Not again!" Bea moaned, stepping closer to Victor. The flickering came more frequent. Kori started trembling slightly, and Dick's first thought was to take hold of her hand.

"What's happening?" Rae whispered in a scratchy voice.

"I don't know," Gar said, looking around as if the explanation was nearby.

The lights stopped flickering, and instead flooded the room in a dim, eerie glow that was slightly greenish. The skin of everyone around was a pale, clammy jade, and the shadows seemed thicker, and almost life-like. Everyone in the room stopped, nervous to even make a noise.

A scratchy noise filled the room. Kitten let out a cry of surprise and stumbled backwards slightly. The noise grew louder. It was a popping, static-y sound. Everyone was silent, waiting to see what was going to happen.

Band music started playing. The students jumped as they heard it fill the room. They looked around, searching for an answer.

"It's the PA." Gar whispered, pointing to a speaker. Trumpets, horns, whistles and drums started filling the room, creating an upbeat tune. It was almost as if being thrown in the musical track for a summer parade. After a few measures, an unnervingly cheerful male voice sang out,

"_Your time of fun has just begun, _

_If you're smart, you better run. _

_Better hurry, it's getting late, _

_And then there were only eight._" The PA system clicked off, and absolute silence hung in the air.

"What was that?" Kori squealed, bringing her hands to her mouth. As she pulled on the hand that was holding onto Dick's, the two looked at each other, immediately pulling their hand away and looking in opposite directions, finding a sudden fascination with the floor.

"Was that a joke?" Kitten demanded. "Because it is _not _funny!"

"Kitten, are you serious?" Rob demanded. "Do you honestly think that someone would pull a prank like this? How _much_ do you have to be lacking in a life to joke around with some innocent kids in detention?"

Gar raised one hand sheepishly, saying, "Well, actually-"

Bea cut him off. "This is ridiculous! It has to be a joke! It's probably just the janitor. Yeah! That's it! It's the janitor!" She nodded her head quickly, looking into the eyes of everyone else in the room for a reassuring comment or gesture.

"The janitor _sings?_" Kitten demanded, raising her eyebrows. Bea shrugged, mind racing to find an explanation.

"Well, y'know, it could've just been a recording. Yeah! Like, if he DID have a band, we would've heard it, right? So it's totally a recording!"

"You know, she's got a point." Victor said, shrugging casually.

"Fine!" Dick said, stepping into a position that was more in the center of the group. "This is a serious situation. We're locked in the school, and a guy I've known since the first grade is missing. If the only thing we've got to go with is that the janitor decided to suddenly develop a sense of humor, then we're going to roll with it. You all know where the janitor's office is, right?" Nods came from each person. Dick continued. "Good. Then that's where we're headed." He started to head towards the door, but Kitten grabbed hold of his shoulder.

"Oh, Dick," she said in an overly dramatic voice. "But I'm scared!" Kori quickly walked up to the two, pulling Kitten away from the spiky-haired intellectual.

"Don't worry, Kitten, Bea and I will be here for you," she said in a rushed voice, patting the girl's shoulder. Kitten's eyes flashed and narrowed slightly.

"Gee, thanks, Kor," she said, obvious agitation in her voice.

"Let's go," Dick said, heading out the door. Kitten and Kori came after him, trailing in his shadow. Victor and Bea came out next, the formers eyes fluttering around nervously. Rob, Gar and Rae followed, cautiously looking all around them.

The eight moved down the hallway without a noise. Kitten stepped lightly so her heels wouldn't click on the tiled floor. The only sounds to fill the empty space were that of the storm outside. Listening to it made the eight all the more nervous…

A boom of thunder sounded out, and Rae gasped lightly. Gar gave her a reassuring smile, and mouthed, "Almost there." Rae smiled slightly and nodded her head shallowly.

The group had reached the other end of the school. Dick stopped, and turned around to face the others. He motioned with his hand for them to come closer. The group obeyed the command. Dick leaned in, saying,

"All right, the janitor's office is right here. If he's behind it, he should be in here, okay? I'm going to open the door when I hold up three fingers." Kori and Victor nodded slightly, and Dick turned around, taking a grip on the door handle. Kori's eyes grew wider. Dick took a deep breath. His heartbeat increased. Outside, the storm seemed to have grown with the tension. The wind was now howling, and blowing as if trying to knock down the school itself. The noise seemed to go through Dick's mind, making his head slightly cloudy.

He brought up his left hand, holding up one finger. Bea held on to Victor's arm.

Dick brought up his second finger. At the same time, thunder crashed outside. Rae took a step backwards.

As he brought up the final finger, he yanked the door open, revealing what was inside…

Nothing.

There was not a thing out of the ordinary inside the custodian's office. A desk with papers, folders, and a phone. Mops, brooms, and buckets lined on tall wooden cabinets on either wall. A sink in the back.

"There…there's nothing here," Bea stuttered, peering over Dick's shoulder.

"But…but it had to be the janitor!" Kitten squealed, shivering from a combination of fear and low temperature.

"What else is it then?" Rae whispered in a hoarse voice. Rob opened his mouth, as if to offer an explanation, but was cut short by another sound drowning his own out.

_Slam!_ A loud, metallic crash echoed through the hallway.

"That wasn't thunder…" Kori squeaked out, backing up towards the wall. They all paused, hearts seeming to have stopped as well. Not so much as a breath could be heard.

_Bam. Bam. Bam. _A muffled noise could be heard heading down the hallway. They were evenly spaced, but seemed to be coming closer with each one.

"What do we do?" Bea asked, holding onto Victor's arm even tighter. The noise was coming closer…

"Look!" Rae gasped, eyes wide and face paling. She pointed ahead of them. All heads whipped around to see what Rae was trying to show them. All eyes grew wide and all color was drained from their stunned faces. A few short gasps were heard as they all realized what she was pointing out…

Tall shadows were heading down the hallway.

A/N: I like ending with cliffhangers, if you didn't notice. :) Well, that's the end of number three, man! What'll happen next? I'm not really sure either…Please read and review! The more I get the more I want to update! Thanks everybody! Peace and rock on!

**-Earth Blues Baby**


	4. Chapter Four

**Everyday Average Ordinary: Chapter Four**

**A/N: Wow, I can't believe all the responses I got! This is my first fanfic so it was awesome hearing that you all liked it so much! Thank you for everyone who reviewed my story, I truly appreciate it my friends! I hope that you all dig this next chapter, it's a little shorter than the others but I think its still good. I love writing this and hearing my reader's thoughts. Thank you so much! Enjoy! Peace and rock on.**

Review Replies:

**Mrmistoffelees: **Hey, thanks for your review! I appreciate it! Can't tell you who its gonna be though, sorry man. Read on though! Hope you enjoy it. Thanks for your time and input. Peace and rock on!

**Rose/Jackalobe: **Hey man, I have to say, thanks for reviewing all of my chapters! I appreciate you being such a positive and talkative fan. Thank you for all of your input. I don't know how much horror I'm going to put in, I'm kind of just rolling with whatever I type at the moment…I hope you enjoy all of it! Gil is based on Aqualad's character, sweet guess, my friend! In the first chapter I posted the characters and the names I was going to call them. I might repost them in my next chapter just to remind all the cats that read this though. Thanks! And, yeah, I've been updating a lot because I was sick and at home, so I didn't have a ton to do. I can't say I'll update on such a regular pattern though after Spring Break- it started today! Sorry, man, but I'll be sure not to leave my fans hanging! Well, besides the cliffies I like to throw in…Thanks for everything! Peace and rock on!

**Amethyst Wind: **Hey, sweet pen name! Thanks so much for your review! Glad you're interested in it. I don't know who else is going to appear, I don't plan my stories carefully ahead. What I'm doing now seems to be working though…Anyways, thanks for your time and input my friend! Peace and rock on!

**They-Call-Me-Orange: **Hey, thanks for the compliment! I really appreciate it! The pairings are probably going to be pretty evened out. My faves are the ones I'm using, robstar, bbrae, and cybee. Although I do like CyJinx as well. :) I hope you enjoy this! Peace and rock on!

**xox. Annie Potter.xox: **Hey, thanks for another review! I appreciate the time and input you're putting into my story! Hope that you enjoy this next chapter. Peace and rock on!

**Chi24: **Hey, thanks so much! I really appreciate you reviewing my story man! I'm glad that you can see the characters in the school and that it's believable! Thanks for your review and I hope to get another one from you, my friend! Enjoy the chapter! Peace and rock on!

**ILUVCLTT: **Hey, I'm glad to hear your enthusiasm! I'm sure you know it really helps an author when they can see their readers are really enjoying their work. Thanks for another review, my friend! I'm really glad to hear you dig! Peace and rock on!

**TitansFan: **Hey, you know what man, you're right! Once you pointed that out I _could _see similarities between the two! I wasn't intentionally basing the story on it, and I'm not sure how much they're going to be alike, but I take that as a major compliment. I love Boy Meets World and that is such an awesome episode my friend! The story kind of reminded me of "And Then There Were None" by Agatha Christie because of the Ten Little Indians nursery rhyme she implies into her story. I love it when authors are always giving you subtle hints. I think I'm going to try to add more of those to mine so keep your eyes open man! Thanks so much for your time and thoughts! Peace and rock on!

**Thugette90: **Hey, glad to see your enthusiasm man! I'm really glad that you dig my story. Would you do me a favor and mind pointing out where I called him Roy? I'd like to go back and edit it possibly. Thanks a ton for pointing that out, my friend! And don't worry, I wouldn't go into a rage if you did flame me, as long as it was your honest opinion. Because in my opinion, there are too many other things going on in this world to worry about things like that. There is still a ton of love in the world and we need to add more to it! I like Star/Rob stuff too, so I'm sure you'll be seeing more fluff in here! I read your story "Brotherly Luv" and sent a review, so keep your eyes open man! Thanks so much! Peace and rock on!

**Starfirefan05: **Hey, another Star fan! Awesome. I'm glad that you're into my story and I hope that you'll continue to send me your thoughts. Hope that you enjoy this chapter and all to come! Peace and rock on!

**Starfire-is-not-a-wimp: **Hey, my friend, you make me laugh. I'm glad that you like my story, and I'm really not trying to be mean. Just trying to hook the reader. I think I've succeeded in that with you! Thanks for the compliment; I like leaving the reader in suspense so expect lots of cliffhangers! I'm really glad that you're digging this and will try to update often! Thanks so much for your reviews and hope to hear more from you! Peace and rock on!

**Sparrowing: **Hey, glad you dig my cliffhangers. I'm glad to see the suspense I'm trying for is working out. I hope that you like this next chapter and the rest of the story. Thanks for your review! Peace and rock on!

Disclaimer: I do not own Teen Titans. Or any other cartoon.

**Chapter Four**

"_Look!" Rae gasped, eyes wide and face paling. She pointed ahead of them. All heads whipped around to see what Rae was trying to show them. All eyes grew wide and all color was drained from their stunned faces. A few short gasps were heard as they all realized what she was pointing at…_

_Tall shadows were heading down the hallway._

"Oh my gosh!" Kitten gasped in a scared quavering voice. "What is it?" She tiptoed over and cowered behind Dick. The shadows were quickly approaching.

"Do you think its Gil?" Gar asked. Rob took a deep breath, then said in a quiet, rushed voice,

"I don't know but I don't want to hang around to find out! We gotta hide, guys!" Bea's eyes became widened with fright and she whispered,

"C'mon, into the janitors closet! Quick and be quiet!" Everyone nodded and dashed into the room. Victor ushered Bea under the desk, where they crouched down underneath it. Kitten and Kori each curled up in large shelves in the cabinets lining the wall. Dick and Rob sat in back of the desk, hidden from the view of the glass pane in the door. Gar quickly and silently closed the door, flipping the lock. He hopped into a large cart sitting next to the door. He helped Rae in, who sat close to him in the tight quarters.

All eight were absolutely silent as they heard the noises come even closer. As they drew nearer, they could hear muffled noises, low and undistinguishable. No one in the room could tell whether they came from one source or ten.

The noises ceased outside the door, and silhouettes gazed back in. Because of the frost covering on the window, it was hard to tell just what was looking in, other than that it resembled, and was most likely, a human head.

Kitten gasped lightly, hugging her knees. Bea whimpered and grabbed a hold of Victor's jacket. There was a heavy silence, hanging in the air like a dangerous omen. The silence seemed to almost be buzzing, warning each of the students to not so much as breathe.

The form at the window paused for a few seconds. It seemed like hours to the eight in the room. In a sudden movement, the doorknob started rattling. Rae let out a quiet gasp, heard only by Gar. The boy reacted by putting his arms around her and holding her close to him. He could feel her shaking lightly.

The rattling continued. It was loud and brash, and seemed to echo through the skulls of the listeners. All sat and listened in terror. Dick silently thanked Gar for locking the door. Bea clutched onto Victor's arm, and felt the football captain's hand on her shoulder. The rattling seemed to intensify, breaking the quiet in the room like a bullet to glass.

Finally, it stopped, and the shadow disappeared from the door. The noises, which, now that they were closer, were discovered to be footsteps, faded, and eventually ceased all together, either heading upstairs or down another hallway.

"I'm scared," Kori mumbled from her hiding place in the shelf. "Who was that? And where is Gil?" She seemed almost to the point of tears.

"Was it the janitor?" Kitten asked as she crawled out from her hiding spot. The others followed suit, and Victor shook his head, saying,

"I don't think so. The dude's got a key to this place, so shouldn't he be able to get in?"

Bea moaned, her head collapsing onto Victor's arm. "Victor, c'mon! Please, I'm even more scared now! That means someone else is in here with us!"

"Is it Keese?" Gar asked as he helped Rae out of the cart. "Hey may have not of gotten out…"

"That's a really good point," Kitten said as she carefully inched towards Dick. "Hey may still be here."

"Does anybody know what his car looks like?" Kori asked, noticing Kitten's sudden movement. She casually took a step forward, blocking her path.

"I do," Dick said. "I saw him come out of it this morning. Let's check to see if it's still in the parking lot." The others nodded, and carefully checked the hallway. When they saw that no one was there, they slipped through and started towards the front door. There was still a feeling of uneasiness, but there was a ray of hope as they realized that Mr. Keese might still be at school.

The eight arrived at the front door, and crowded around one another to peer out the windows. They could see the parking lot, where the only cars that remained were their own.

"Are…are you sure his car isn't out there?" Bea asked as she scanned the parking lot.

"Silver Volvo. It's not there. He's gone." Dick announced, looking at the floor in disappointment. Bea's lip began to quiver again.

"Are you sure it wasn't the janitor then. He may have-" Kitten's suggestion was cut short by a high-pitched scream of fright from Kori. The redheaded girl had been standing at the back of the group, scanning the parking lot, when she felt a hand grab her shoulder from behind and yank her backwards.

"Kori!" Dick yelled, turning around checking the girl. She was panting, her eyes wide with fright, and small, scared whimpers escaping her lips.

When Dick saw who it was, he narrowed his eyes and spat out, "Let go of her, you jerks." Holding onto Kori's shoulder was Matt Teth and Allan Ross. The two snickered, but let go of their grip on Kori's shoulder. The girl ran over to Dick, grabbing a hold of his hand. He tightened the grip.

"What are you two doing here?" Rob asked. "Where were you? Thought you skipped detention."

Allan grinned slightly, saying, "We did. But we stayed at school. Had a good time, too." Matt let out a few low, dull laughs. "By the way," Allan added. "Sorry about that. Didn't mean to make you guys mad…" Bea's eyes suddenly flickered twice their normal size.

"You jerks! You scared us so bad!" Bea screamed, crossing her arms and narrowing her eyes at the two. "Why did you do that?"

Kitten's eyes grew wide as she realized what Bea was accusing them of. "Oh my gosh, how could you do that? That's horrible!"

The usual looks of confusion became even more troubled as Allan and Matt tried to decipher what Bea and Kitten were implying.

"What'd we do?" Allan asked as Matt scratched the back of his head.

"Don't play stupid," Gar said. "You played that tape with the song on it and then tried to get into the janitor's office with us in there."

"You also messed up the lights!" Victor added. Matt and Allan shook their heads slowly.

"Sorry, we didn't hear or see any of that," Allan said slowly. "We've been upstairs the whole time. We were hanging out in the library. Used the computers."

A look of fright played over Rae's eyes. "You mean you didn't do it?" She asked quietly.

Matt shook his head. "Look, it sounds like a great prank, but we didn't do it." As much as the others wanted to disbelieve it, there was a genuine look in the boys' eyes, confirming their story.

"So…it was somebody else?" Kori asked in a voice barely above a whisper. No one responded. The sounds of the storm filled the school. Wind, rain and thunder. The sky was beginning to turn a velvet-like blue, signaling a nearing night.

Before an explanation could be offered, another sound filled the school. All ten recognized the noise immediately.

The click of a PA system.

**A/N: Wow, another one down. I've been getting a lot of chapters in because of the fact that I was home sick and Spring Break started today. I hope you all are digging this! Please send in a review! I've said it before, the more I hear from my readers the more I want to send them another chapter. By the way, sorry for the cliffhangers, my friends. I just can't seem to help myself. Thanks for the time! Peace and rock on!**

**-Earth Blues Baby**


	5. Chapter Five

**Everyday Average Ordinary: Chapter Five**

**A/N: Hey everybody! Well, I was getting a lot of requests for more fluff stuff. So, I decided to do a fluffy chapter! I've still got mystery/suspense in here, but it _is _more centered on fluffiness stuff. So, enjoy! By the way, there is some good stuff in here so read carefully! Thanks! And here it is, chapter five! And by popular demand now with 50 more fluff! By the way, stay tuned for the next chapter for a marshmallow cotton puff and a bunch of other fluffy stuff Dick and Kori moment! Thanks man, peace and rock on!**

**Review Responses: (Hey, RobinStarfire, sorry I didn't get your response on the last chapter, man! I submitted it before I got the review notices. My apologies my friend!)**

**RobinStarfire: **Hey man, thanks for the time you put in reading and reviewing this! I'm really glad you dig. As requested, Dick/Kori romance. And still more to come! I've got something I think you'll really like coming up in chapter six. I think you'll dig, its none other than robstar fluff! Enjoy! Peace and rock on!

**Starfire-Is-Not-A-Wimp: **Hey man thanks for being such a faithful fan! I really do enjoy reading your reviews! I'm glad that you dig this so much. I love hearing that I've got the reader hooked, it always makes me want to try to do a little better in the next chapter. Thanks for the kind comments, my friend! I can't tell you what's gonna happen next, sorry man! Enjoy reading this! Peace and rock on!

**Sparrowing: **Hey man I'm glad you're feeling the suspense and mystery. I'm trying to build good endings for cliffies, and I'm glad you dig. Enjoy the story and thanks for your reviews! Peace and rock on!

**Beastboy and raven 4 ever: **Hey man sweet I got another reader. All right! I'm glad that you dig my story. And yeah, there's more fluff in this chapter so enjoy. I'm sure you'll dig the bb/rae fluff.  Thanks for the review! Peace and rock on!

**Rose/Jackalobe: **Hey man! Yeah, this one was kind of shorter than the other ones; hope you all enjoyed it anyway though. Glad that you dig my little songs. Hey, that's awesome that you like mystery. How was your concert? Hope you did great my friend. And yeah, I like throwing in twists, so enjoy them. Hope you like this chapter too. Glad you dig the mystery and suspense! Peace and rock on!

**Starfirefan05: **Hey, glad you dig! I hope that you enjoy this next chapter and the whole story! Glad to hear from you again and I hope I continue to get your reviews! Peace and rock on!

**BunnyKat: **Hey sweet I'm glad that you're reading this my friend! I hope you've enjoyed the story so far and all to come! You're review made me laugh, I can't wait to hear from you again! Peace and rock on!

**xox.Annie Potter.xox: **Hey glad to hear from you again! I'm really glad you like my story so much and that you dig the suspense. Glad to see the plot twists are working. Thanks for your time man! Peace and rock on!

**ILUVCLTT: **Hey man I always love your reviews; you just sound so full of energy and enthusiasm. Once again, thanks for your thoughts my friend! Thank you for all your many and great compliments, I look forward for hearing your next review. Thanks so much! Peace and rock on!

**Neko Starfire: **Hey man thanks for taking the time to read and review this! I hope to hear from you again on the rest of my story! Yeah that last one was the shortest, I hope you still were digging it though. And yes, my friend, I do like cliffhangers. Thanks for your thoughts and having read my story! Peace and rock on!

**Thugette90: **Hey man no worries. Thanks for putting observations in your review anyway. I appreciate it, I'm sure it'll help me through my story. So thanks my friend. That is totally sweet that you dig my story. That's awesome that you like the cliffhangers. I love reading your reviews because you are so enthusiastic! And wow, man, I must say, that is an incredible compliment to be called a role model. Yes, I do dig peace and harmony and love spinning around the world, and I have been called a hippie chick before. I dig it though because I am a Jesus Freak who does believe strongly in love. No problem for the review man I hope to see an update very soon! Thanks so much for everything! Peace and rock on!

**JMPchick: **Hey man thanks for reading my story! That's sweet that you gave me some of your time and thoughts! I'm glad you dig! I hope to be hearing lots from you for the entire story! Thanks my friend! Peace and rock on!

**Ttitansfan/Shelly: **Hey, whoops, sorry man I just realized that I left out that double T on my other responses! Sorry my friend! Once again, thanks for an awesome review! I'm glad you dig the suspense in my story. That's sweet. Your review made me laugh. Maybe that episode is stored in my subconscious and inspired bits of this story man! That's awesome that you're really interested in my story, thanks so much for being a faithful reader! Peace and rock on!

**Mr. Rogers: **Hey man thank you for reviewing my story! I hope you dig. Enjoy this next chapter and the rest of the story man! I hope you review some more! Thanks so much! And by the way I dig your name. Peace and rock on!

**Made in Heaven: **Hey my friend sweet, I got another reader! Thanks for your time and input man! I'm glad you're digging it. I have some Dick/Kori stuff in this chapter, but I have a bigger moment planned for the next chapter. Sorry you'll have to wait man! I hope you enjoy this story though! Can't wait to hear from you again! Thanks, peace and rock on!

**Iluvttcl: **Hey man, sweet, another reader! I'm glad you dig. Yeah, another person, Ttitansfan, pointed out that it sounded like the Boy Meets World episode. It was kind of funny because I love that episode, and looking back on it I could see the similarities. I wasn't trying to base the story on it, but I'll take it as a compliment because that is an awesome episode my friend! Thanks for your review and can't wait to hear from you again! Peace and rock on!

**KITTEN IS A SLUT: **Hey man I appreciateyou enthusiasm in the story! Thanks for the review and I hope to hear from you very soon! Enjoy the story man! Thanks, peace, and rock on!

**Disclaimer: Hey, sorry, I still don't own Teen Titans.**

**Chapter Five**

"_So…it was somebody else?" Kori asked in a voice barely above a whisper. No one responded. The sounds of the storm filled the school. Wind, rain and thunder. The sky was beginning to turn a velvet-like blue, signaling the nearing night. _

_Before an explanation could be offered, another sound filled the school. All ten recognized the noise immediately. _

_The click of a PA system. _

Band music filled the ears of the listeners once more. It was the same song as the one that was played earlier. The instruments were playing a joyful tune that seemed dark and ominous to the ten crowding around the door.

The trumpet blared a note, and the voice started singing once more,

"_Better listen to your fear, _

_The midnight hours getting near. _

_Better make sure you do it right, _

_Or no one gets out tonight." _

The scratchy static of the PA system ceased, and all stood in a shocked silence. No one knew what to say.

"Was…that it?" Allan asked, face pale and pointing to the ceiling. "Is that what you heard?" Kori nodded her head slowly, whimpering slightly and now squeezing Dick's hand with fright.

"Who is it?" Matt asked in a slow, scared voice.

"We thought it was you," Rae said. "But it couldn't have been now." She looked at the floor, obviously shaken from the song.

"Let's try to figure this out." Dick said, using his usual cool reasoning. "Who remembers what the song said?" Rae looked up and repeated the lyrics in a quiet, mumbling voice.

"'The midnight hour's getting near.'" Kitten quoted. "What does that mean?"

Rob spoke up. "I think it means we have until midnight. Remember the last line, 'or no one gets out tonight.' I think we're supposed to find a way out of here before midnight."

"What time is it now?" Victor asked. Allan checked his wristwatch.

"It's about 7:15." He announced.

"Then we've got a little less than five hours." Dick said. "We'll figure this all out by then."

"How?" Gar demanded, throwing his hands outward dramatically. "I mean, how do you really expect to figure this all out? Gil is already gone! What's your solution?"

Dick stared at him calmly. "I'm not sure _how _we're going to do this, I just know that we're _going _to. That we _have _to. If anyone has any suggestions, then go ahead and say it."

"I have an idea," Victor said. "Why don't we look around for whatever is behind this? I mean, I seriously doubt that someone is out to knock us off. We'll be able to find whatever it is if we try." The football captain shrugged his shoulders.

"Anyone else have other ideas?" Dick asked.

Rob rolled his eyes and barked out, "Yeah, don't end up like Gil."

"I'm nervous though!" Bea squealed. "There really IS someone out there and I don't want to disappear too!"

"It's the only idea we have," Dick said. "Look, why don't we get into three groups? That way, we can cover more ground. One group can look on the second floor, and check the principal's office and the PA system. Another group can check the third floor, and the last group can check the fourth floor. I'm pretty sure no one is down here." Dick said. No one objected this idea, only looked at the ground and nodded their heads.

"How are we going to separate?" Rae asked.

"Well, who wants to check the second floor? That's including the principal's office." Dick said. Victor raised his hand.

"I will. I'm sure there's nothing up there," he said firmly.

"All right. Anyone want to go with?" Dick asked.

"I do," Bea said, stepping closer to Victor. Dick nodded, saying,

"All right, I'll take the third floor. Anyone else want to search that one?"

Kitten immediately exclaimed, "I will!" She stepped up to Dick, eyes flashing as she noticed that he and Kori were holding hands.

"I'll come too," Kori said with a sweet smile. Dick smiled back, saying,

"Okay…who wants to look on the top level?"

"I'll go," Rae said softly.

"Who else?" Dick asked. Gar looked at Rae with a soft smile, saying,

"I'll come too."

"I'll head up also, then," Rob said, stepping closer to the two. "You won't have to worry with me around, Rae." He said, looping his arm around her waist and pulling her towards him. The girl rolled her eyes and pulled away.

"Where should we go?" Matt asked.

"Well, Victor and Bea are alone, so do you two want to head with them?" Allan nodded and they joined the couple.

"All right then. Let's try to meet back here in about an hour. Got that?" Everyone nodded, and headed off in their directions.

Dick, Kitten and Kori reached the third level. Empty classrooms and rows of lockers looked back at them.

"Where should we start?" Kitten asked, glancing around the hallway.

"Why don't we start in the classrooms," Dick suggested, heading to the first one. Kitten nodded, gushing,

"Oh, Dick, what a _great_ idea. You are _so_ smart." Dick almost gagged, but chose not to respond. The three headed into the room, which was their English class.

"Looks a lot different when it's empty," Kori said, eyes scanning the room. The three stepped inside, ready to begin the search. The room was still and silent, giving off a feeling of uneasiness and nervousness.

Kori looked around the teacher's desk. Kitten searched around the windows, and Dick looked around the desks.

Dick looked up to see Kori shuffling around papers on the desk. _"She's so kind,"_ he thought, watching the girl affectionately. _"And she's so pretty. Too bad I wouldn't have a chance with a girl like that."_ He sighed to himself.

"You okay, Dick?" Kitten asked. Dick mumbled a response. Kori noticed him looking at her and smiled warmly. Dick's heart melted.

"I don't think there's anything in here," Kitten said, noticing the interaction between the two. "Why don't we check another room?"

"Great idea, Kitten." Said Kori, who seemed to have drifted into another world. She headed to the door, Dick and Kitten following.

The three went into the hallway and moved to the next classroom. It was a 10th-grade science classroom.

"Let's look around." Dick said, and started off. Once again, he went to the desks, and started searching them. Out of the corner of his eye he noticed papers by the window. They were fluttering around from the wind blowing in from a small crack in the window. Dick walked over, lifting them up curiously.

They were blank.

Confused, Dick flipped them over, bringing them closer to his eyes, trying to see if there was something that he had missed. Nothing appeared on the paper.

"What are you looking at, Dick?" Kitten asked, walking over

"Dunno," he mumbled. He flipped them over a couple more times, sure that there was something he was missing.

"Um…Dick, they're kinda blank." Kitten said in a voice that seemed like I-really-don't-want-to-have-to-point-out-the-obvious-but-I-am.

"I realize that, Kitten." He said in an agitated voice. Kori walked over, glancing over Dick's shoulder.

"I'm sure you'll figure something out," Kori said softly. "You're really smart, Dick." She gave him a kind smile. Dick grinned back. The two seemed to be lost in each other's eyes.

"Um, guys," Kitten said, waving her hand between the two. They popped out of their trance. "Moving on…" She said in a frustrated sigh.

"Uh, yeah…I'll pocket them. Y'know, just in case."

"Where should we check first?" Rae asked. She, Gar and Rob had just arrived on the top floor of the school.

"Want to look in the library?" Gar suggested. Rae nodded, and led the way into the library.

Inside, there was a small amount of light coming in through the large windows from the newly risen moon. The tall bookshelves cast eerie shadows in odd directions. The computers sat in carefully aligned rows, screens blank and bathed in the silvery moonlight. There was an unnerving quiet, one that seemed almost unbreakable.

"Where should we look?" Gar asked, eyes scanning over the room.

"I'll go with you, Rae," Rob said, taking a hold of her hand and smiling. Rae pulled her hand out of his reach and muttered,

"Why don't we all look in different places?"

Slightly taken aback, Rob responded, "Sure. Okay." He set off for a section of the library.

Rae walked towards the center, scanning the rows of books. She was in the nonfiction section, currently in the authors starting with Na. She walked along the shelf, looking through the books.

There was a large section where all the books were checked out. The transparent shelf lining showed Gar's face on the other side. Seeing Rae, the boy smiled. Rae smiled back, and laughed quietly as Gar began making funny faces. The girl grinned and shook her head. Gar held up one finger, and then disappeared. A moment later, he walked around the shelf and up to Rae.

"Hey there. How're you doing, Rae?" He asked, wiggling his eyebrows. Rae giggled lightly, saying,

"Long time no see. How're you?" Gar's face darkened a little, showing a more serious tone.

"Kinda scared, to be honest."

Rae's eyes looked down and her head lowered. "Yeah," she whispered. "Me too." Rae looked down at the carpet, trying to suppress her fear. Suddenly, she felt warm arms wrap around her, and was surprised to see Gar pulling her in for a hug.

"It's okay," he said in a kind and reassuring voice. She buried her face in his chest and wrapped her arms around him. Gar held her tighter and rested his head on her own. "It'll be okay," he whispered into her hair. "Everything's going to be all right." He felt Rae nodding against his chest. He began rocking back and forth slightly.

"Hey guys!" Rob yelled, causing Gar to stop rocking her. "C'mere! Quick, c'mon!"

Rae pulled backwards slightly, but noticed that Gar was still holding her tightly. "C'mon, Gar, we should check it out." She whispered.

"Mmm, its just him, you sure you want to leave?" He murmured. Rae laughed lightly, saying,

"C'mon Gar." The boy sighed playfully, and took her hand, leading her out to where Rob was standing. He looked up, seeming to tense when he saw the two holding hands. He appeared cool though, and said,

"Listen guys," Rob whispered. Rae and Gar paused for a moment, listening intently.

_Bang! Bang! Bang! _A loud, stuffy noise flooded the room. All three heads whipped around to try to find out where it was coming from. The noise seemed to be pouring in from all directions yet none at the same time.

"What do we do?" Rae asked, eyes looking around the room.

"Should we follow it?" Rob suggested. At that moment the sounds ceased. The three waited in careful anticipation in case they would begin again, but were greeted by only thick, unmoving silence.

"It's gone…" Gar breathed out.

Victor, Bea, Matt and Allan climbed up the staircase to the second level. They gazed around the hallway, looking for anything out of the ordinary. It seemed very peaceful, quiet and serene.

"Why don't we check the principal's office?" Victor suggested. Matt nodded, and the four headed off to the room. It was towards the end of the hallway, and they were glad to find it unlocked.

Inside, nothing seemed to be out of place. Mrs. Anderson's desk sat in an amazingly organized fashion, while Mr. Keese's seemed to be a tad messier.

"That's strange," Bea noted, walking over to his desk. "He left his briefcase. Maybe that means he's still here!" She announced.

"Or that he forgot it. Hey, Matt, Allan, I think I just heard a noise out in the hallway. Quick, check it out!" Victor exclaimed urgently, motioning for them to head out.

"Uh…right! Cover our backs if we need it!" Allan exclaimed.

"Right! Go!" Victor urged, as the two nodded and stumbled out the door.

Bea looked at the football captain with a worried expression on her face. "Victor!" She wailed. "What was it? What did you hear?"

He shrugged his shoulder, saying, "I dunno. I just told them to leave cause they were kind of bugging me. Knowing those two they'll probably just wander around for a while." He said. Bea rolled her eyes, but laughed slightly.

"Hey Vic," she said, fingering the briefcase.

"Yeah?" He asked, as he walked up to the window to watch the storm. The sky had turned a much deeper shade, and the storm seemed to have darkened. It didn't look like it could get any worse at all.

"Do you think it is Keese? I mean, his stuff is still here. He might be too." She looked up at him with concerned eyes.

"I dunno, Bea," he said, walking over to her. He put a reassuring hand on her shoulder, saying, "It's all right though. Nobody's gonna mess with me, so you're fine." He grinned and flexed his arm, trying to lighten the mood. Bea started laughing.

"Guess I'm okay then.Thanks, Victor," she said, giving him a warm smile. Victor beamed back.

"No problem." The two smiled at each other for a moment, and then Bea's eyes lit up.

"Hey, Victor!" She exclaimed, resting her hands on his shoulders.

"Yeah?" He murmured, lost in her beautiful brown eyes.

"The phone! We can use the phone! We can call somebody and they can help! Vic, we can get out of here!" She exclaimed, smile widening all the way across her face.

"That's a great idea, Bea! It's worth a shot, let's try!" Bea nodded eagerly and scanned Mr. Keese's desk for the phone. She felt like laughing as she saw it in the corner.

"We're almost out of here, Victor," she exclaimed happily, picking up the phone. She brought it to her ear and was about to punch in the first digit of her home phone number when she almost leapt out of her skin.

An eerie, chopped up voice on the other end of the phone said in an unnervingly smooth, cool and calm voice,

"Trying to get out already, are we?" Bea slammed the phone down on the cradle and screamed, heartbeat racing out of control and feeling a cold sweat across her forehead.

"Bea, what is it?" Victor asked concerned, taking a step forward. The girl was panting now, and choked out in a strained voice,

"There was someone on the other end! Victor, somebody is here!" She cried, collapsing against him. He hugged her, whispering reassuring words.

Outside, lightning danced across the night sky. It elegantly and silently flickered across the deep blue sky, illuminating a tree and nearby power cables.

"Victor-" Bea's words were cut off suddenly from shock.

The room was dipped into an ebony filter. The power at Jump City High School had failed.

A scream pierced through the darkness…

**A/N: Hey, sorry, I couldn't help myself. I had to put more mystery stuff in there. I hope all of you were digging it anyway! I hope you enjoyed the fluff too. Like the cliffhanger? Well, you know what to do! Read and review! I know I've said this in like every chapter, but, man, I do love getting reviews, my friends! So please let me know what you all think! I love hearing your thoughts! And stay tuned for more fluff in the next chappie! Thanks for reading, peace, and rock on!**

**-Earth Blues Baby**


	6. Chapter Six

**Everyday Average Ordinary: Chapter Six**

**A/N: Hey my friends! Well, I have gotten so many requests for a cute moment for Dick and Kori, so I put an alone moment in here for them. Still suspense, no worries. Hope you all dig. Peace and rock on!**

**Review Responses:**

**Thugette90: **Hey man, I love your responses so much! You're reviews are awesome, I love hearing from you! Thanks for the awesome review my friend. That was sweet to hear from you. Once again, glad you dig. I'm glad to see the suspense and mystery is working for me. Glad you're feeling it. Yeah, there's another Dick/Kori moment in here, and this time Kitten isn't there. ;) I like the pairings too. Robin and Starfire just seem so right for each other, and to me BB and Rae-Rae are an awesome pair man. No problem with the suggestion for your story my friend. I can't wait for an update. You'll hear from me just as much as I hear from you! And trust me, I love your reviews! And that is an honor to have the next chappie dedicated to me. Thanks so much! And I can't wait for your update. That is an awesome story! On my fave list. That was awesome, made me smile to know that I have made a friend "so very grateful.":) I am also grateful…for the dead! Ha ha, probably don't get it, but I'm a big fan of the Grateful Dead.:) Well, once again, thanks for your time and sweet review. Awesome man. Peace and rock on!

**Starfire-is-not-a-wimp:** Hey man glad to hear from you again. Thanks for the review my friend. Glad you dig. That's pretty sweet that you love the suspense and cliffhangers. Thanks so much for being a faithful reader! I salute you! Peace and rock on!

**ILUVCLTT:** Hey man glad you're feeling the scary stuff. It's awesome to hear that you are such a fan of this story. Trust me, the more I hear my readers dig it the sooner I want to update. Plus I had some time today because I had to cancel on one of my friends because of the weather and my amazing ability to turn any situation into a dangerous one…moving on…thanks so much for your review my friend! Can't wait to hear from you again. Enjoy the chapter man! Peace and rock on!

**BunnyKat: **Hey man good to hear from you again. I'm not sure about that episode, but I've been told some people find it similar to a Boy Meets World Episode. Is that what you were thinking of? Anyways, thanks for the review man. Glad you dig the story! Thanks so much for your time and thoughts. I really appreciate it my friend! Sorry about the cliffies man, I just can't help myself. Peace and rock on!

**Ttitansfan/Shelly:** Hey, always glad to hear your enthusiasm my friend. That's sweet that you got into the story and figured out the thing with the phone. Good job! Thanks so much for another review and that's so awesome that you dig it man! I hope you enjoy the story! Peace and rock on!

**Starfirefan05: **Hey man, sweet to hear your review. I'm glad you're enjoying this my friend! And, about Star and Rob kissing, you'll just have to read on man…;) Thanks so much for another review and enjoy tons! Peace and rock on!

**Free-Desert-Wind: **Hey man sweet, I have another new reader! Thanks so much for reading my story man! Thanks so much for the compliment. I really appreciate it! I'm glad that the story seems reasonable and believable, and not OOC. Yeah, Robin did kind of come off a little nerdier than I intended to. I see him on the show as kind of obsessive-compulsive disorder, with the whole Slade thing, so I thought he would be really into his academics if he were in a school situation. Thus, the nerdier character was born. He's not as bad in the rest of the chapters if that's any consolation my friend. And that is an amazing compliment, thank you sooo much! I appreciate it a ton! I hope you enjoy this story and can't wait to hear from you again. And I really like your pen name man. :) Peace and rock on!

**Rose/Jackalobe: **Hey my friend, sweet to hear from you again! You're review made me laugh. Most people at my school don't really dig choir either. I personally liked it, though. But that's just my opinion and I'm cool with theirs. :) I'm glad you dig the songs, and I apologize for my need to throw in cliffhangers. :D I don't know, I guess it might be my saying…I usually sign my stuff with it. Dunno. They're both things I advocate. Peace and good rock n' roll :D! Glad you're feeling the "anticipation." :) Thanks so much, once again! And I like your saying too. :)Peace and rock on!

**BlackStormWitch:** Hey thanks for your time man! I appreciate you reading my story! I hope that you enjoy all of it. Glad you dig the suspense! Thanks for the review! Peace and rock on!

**xox.Annie Potter.xox: **Hey man thanks for another review! Glad you like the fluff my friend! Hope you dig the rest of the story to come! Enjoy the chapter man. Peace and rock on!

**Neko Starfire: **Hey man thanks for your time, once again. I appreciate seeing that you're into my story. I'm glad you dig the suspense. As an author, I'm glad to see its working through the enthusiasm of my readers. I hope to hear from you some more! Thanks so much, man! Peace and rock on!

**Stardust-Memory: **Hey man, sweet, I've got another reader! So glad that I've got you hooked! Sorry about the cliffies, I just love writing them so much though, especially for a mystery. I hope to hear from you again! Thanks for your time my friend! And I'm glad you dig the Dick and Kori romance. Stay tuned for more:) Peace and rock on!

**GrYfFiNdOreVeR/Lana and Celila: **Whoa man, hard name to type out. Sorry if I got it wrong. Thanks for the review though! I'm glad to hear I've got another reader! Well, two, actually:) Here's another chapter, can I have that cookie now? Hope you dig and thanks for the review! Can't wait to hear from you again! Peace and rock on!

**Sparrowing:** Hey man, thanks again for another review! Your mere applause and hopes of a soon update are awesome man! Hope you get some sleep. Enjoy this chapter man! Peace and rock on!

**Free-Desert-Wind:** Hey man thanks for the compliments. I appreciate the time and thoughts you put into my story! Yeah, I was trying to figure out how to do that with the editing feature, but I couldn't make it work. So now I'm going to use the bar tool to signify scene change. Thanks man! I hope that you dig the story and the fluff! I can't wait to hear from you again my friend! Peace and rock on!

**Mr. Rogers:** Hey man, thanks for more of your thoughts! I'm glad you dig, and I can't wait to hear from you again. Glad that you dig the songs! That's awesome that people are into them. Well, once again, thanks for another review man! Peace and rock on!

**They-Call-Me-Orange:** Hey man awesome to hear from you again! Sweet, thanks for another review! Yeah, sorry Rob had to kind of break up the moment there. Glad you dig the fluff though. I love BBRae too! I appreciate all of your comments man! That's sweet that you dig the suspense. You're review made me laugh, we call it the Happy Hotel too. KND, right? And, no, I don't think you need to go there. It sounds like you're just enjoying life, which is what more people need to do. Congrats to you, my friend. Can't wait for your next review, peace and rock on!

**Iluvcltt:** Hey man thanks for another review! Always glad to hear from you my friend. I hope you love this chapter and the rest to come! Hope you're digging the cliffies, glad to see the suspense is working. :) Yeah, Spring Break is awesome man, too bad tomorrow is the last day. Ugh, I'll be doing homework all day...:( Sad. Well, hope you had a great break, or if its just beginning, have tons of fun. Don't waste time because you're never going to get it back. Peace and rock on!

**

* * *

**

**Chapter Six**

**Disclaimer: I don't own Teen Titans.**

_Outside, lightning danced across the night sky. It elegantly and silently flickered across the deep blue sky, illuminating a tree and nearby power cables._

_"Victor-" Bea's words were cut off suddenly from shock. _

_The room was dipped into an ebony filter. The power at Jump City High School had failed…_

_A scream pierced through the darkness…_

"Kori! Kori, are you all right?" Dick cried out, unable to see anything through the penetrating darkness.

"I'm fine, it's just…why did the lights go out?" The answer then announced itself. There was another pop, and the buzzing and fizzing of the PA system filled the school.

The band music started playing again. They seemed to have become used to it. The upbeat tempo and cheerful notes flooded the school, invading the darkness. The words rung through the ears of the listeners.

"_Better get off this ride,_

_Because time is not on your side. _

_None of you have very long, _

_Before all of your time is gone._"

A loud click filled the school, and a dim light began to flicker again. The lighting buzzed for a moment, battling to engulf the room once more. It won, the power returning to Jump City High School.

Up in the library, Gar, Rae and Rob stood frozen on the spot. They stared at the ceiling in absolute shock.

"Do...do you think that they're okay?" Rae asked in a voice that was barely audible.

"I don't know…we should check." Gar said. Rob and Rae nodded, and started for the door.

"Wait!" Rob hissed in a low voice, looping his arms around Rae's waist and pulling her in to his chest.

"Rob, what the-"

"Look!" He whispered, pointing ahead of them. Down the hallway, a door was open, revealing the room. Inside, there was a light flickering on and off.

"Let's check it out," Rob whispered, watching the wavering light.

"But…what if…" Rae's voice trailed off, dissolving into the darkness.

"All right. Let's go," Gar said, jaw seeming totense at Rob's brace on the girl. Rae whimpered slightly, and Rob let go of her waist to grab a hold of her hand.

The three headed down the hallway as quietly as possible. The silence hung thick in the air; a screaming warning. The three ignored it, however, carrying on.

Halfway down the hallway, the door swung open, releasing a loud, creaking noise that caused the three to jump into the air.

"Quick!We gottahide!" Gar leapt through the closest door, ushering Rob and Rae through. They looked around the classroom for a hiding place. In the corner, there was a closet used for storing the science tools.

"C'mon!" Gar said, opening the door. The walls were lined with shelves, filled with different beakers, chemicals, and lab tools. There was a small area in the corner with brooms and a mop, just enough space for them to hide. Gar put himself against the wall, Rob going into the corner and pulling Rae against him. The girl glared, wanting to elbow him in the rib cage, but didn't want to risk being found.

The sound of footsteps echoed down the hallway.

"Is the door locked?" Rob whispered. Gar nodded his head, watchingRob very carefully.

The footsteps intensified, stopping right at the classroom door. Gar held his breath, waiting to see what would happen.

The doorknob began rattling, metal shaking and begging for entrance. Gar's heartbeat broke though his chest, and heprayed that the lock would hold.

_Click!_ The sound of the lock giving and the door swinging open filled the room. Rob pulled Rae closer to him, glaring at Gar and mouthing,

"Idiot." The sounds of footsteps came into the room, causing all three to listen intently. The footsteps seemed to wander slowly around the room, looping around to make a circle. They grew louder and more dangerous as they drew closer to the closet. They paused right outside the door. Gar held his breath. Rae bit her lip. Rob pulled Rae in closer to him, muscles in his arms tensing. Rae could no longer breathe, feeling the outline of his muscles and his heart thumping wildly in his chest.

The footsteps died down, heading back out the door. The creaky sound of the door swinging open rung out, and the door closed. The footsteps died away, and disappeared suddenly without a trace of where they could've gone.

The three stood in absolute silence. They didn't want to risk making a move. As their hearts calmed and breathing adjusted back to normal, Gar whispered,

"Is it…gone?" Rob opened his mouth to reply, but was harshly cut off.

**_BANG! BANG! BANG!_** From behind them a loud, metallic crashing sounded out. Rae let out a small scream, turning and clutching Rob. Gar stumbled backwards, tripping over a mop.

"What is that?" Rae whimpered, looking at the wall. The banging intensified, seeming to come from within the wall. They stood frozen, eyes wide and hearts tripling from their already fast speeds.

After a few more bangs, the noises died down, eventually disappearing. They stood for a moment, and then recovered from their shock. Gar's eyes were glazed over with mixed emotions, Rae pulled from Rob's embrace, who opened the door. The three spilled out, looking around nervously.

"You moron. You said you locked the door!" Rob exclaimed, walking up to Gar and pushing him in the chest.

"If I'm such a moron, why didn't you check the door, idiot?" Gar spat, returning the shove. Rob made a fist and swungit swiftlyat Gar, who ducked.

"Hey! Stop it!" Rae scolded, stepping in between the two. She put a hand on either one's chest to separate them. "Stop." She repeated. Gar huffed, heading off to the door.

"Sorry I'm a moron," he spat out. Rae sighed, running up to him. He was about to open the door when she put her hand over his.

"Gar. Calm down. This isn't your fault." She said softly. Gar looked down at her with glazed over eyes.

"Yeah? Well at least you had your Rob to hold you." He was about to yank open the door when he felt Rae's hands wrap around his neck. She leaned forward, closing her eyes and resting her head on his chest. Gar was slightly taken aback.

"Gar," Rae breathed. "I'm sorry that that happened. If it makes you feel any better, I like it a whole lot better when you hold me. There's no comparison to you, Gar." She whispered, grinning slightly. Gar blinked a few times, taking in the words. He sighed, feeling horrible for his sudden outburst. He put his arms around Rae, pulling her in closer to him. He held her tightly, not wanting to let go.

"Rae." He whispered, putting his head on top of hers. "I'm sorry. I was a total jerk back then. I shouldn't have done it. Rae, I'm so sorry." He rubbed her back softly, sighing into her hair.

"It's okay, Gar. It's okay," she whispered, leaning in farther to his chest. She sighed contently, enjoying the feeling of his warm embrace. There was just something about Gar that made her feel safe. Something that gave her a good feeling inside.

"Rae, I'm so sorry that this all is happening. This shouldn't be happening." He squeezed her tighter, lost in the feeling of her in his arms. She just seemed to fit in perfectly against him, he didn't want to let go…

"Aw, that's real sweet, Rae," Rob said, walking up to the two. "Giving him a hug because he is _such _a loser. We should really get going though." He walked up to the door, opening it and motioning for them to move through. Gar's hands lingered on Rae's back, before he took her hand, leading her out the door.

"Shut it, Rob." He said, opening the door and heading out. Rob's face sported a disgusted look as he headed out of the moonlit doorway.

The three silently headed downstairs and to the detention room. They arrived just as the clock read 8:15.

"Just in time," Rae said, taking a seat in the back of the room. Gar pulled up a desk next to hers, leaning his head on the wall.

"Shouldn't the others be here?" Rob asked impatiently. His question was answered by the door opening.

"What if it's-" Rae breathed a sigh of relief as she saw it was Victor, Bea, and a very frightened looking Matt and Allan.

"You guys okay?" Victor asked as they closed the door behind them. Gar nodded, asking,

"What about you?"

"Scared," Bea said with a pout. Victor put a loving arm around her shoulders, and explained to the three what happened with the phone conversation.

"But you can't hear voices unless you call, right?" Rob asked.

"Rob!" Bea said, covering her eyes. Victor lifted a hand to signal him to stop. "Are you guys all right, though?" Bea murmured.

"Well, actually-" the door opening once more cut off Rae. This time, Dick, Kori and Kitten walked through.

"Hey guys. Find anything?" Dick asked as he took a seat.

"Well, we didn't find anything, but…" Gar then told them about the noises they heard in the library, and then hearing the footsteps and hiding in the science classroom closet. When the story ended, Kori had grabbed a hold of Dick's hand, Kitten's eyes were wide, and Bea was cowering in Victor's arms.

"This is insane, man," Allan said, shaking his head. "What is going on here?"

"Well, what about the janitor's office?" Victor asked. "Nobody's checked it yet. And, whatever it was that's around here was in there." He finished.

"What if he left something?" Bea asked brightly. "It still could've been Keese!" She then explained to Dick, Kori and Kitten about the phone call and the briefcase. "Why don't you check the room, Dick and Kori?" Bea said with a slight grin. She had always been the person to notice an attraction between two people, and she was sure she'd notice this one with her eyes closed.

"Okay!" Dick said, maybe a little too eagerly. He stood up, and headed out the door, which he held open for Kori.

"Aww, isn't that sweet?" Cooed Bea. "How come guys don't do that anymore?" She sighed.

"A couple nice guys do," Rae shrugged. Victor and Gar immediately made mental notes to open doors from then on out.

Out in the hallway, Dick and Kori entered the janitor's office.

"Do you see anything?" Dick asked. Kori shook her head, and the two began searching the room. They turned it upside down, but nothing seemed to have been left there. None of them had noticed anything coming out of the room the first time, and it didn't appear to have had anything left in it.

"Dick, do you think everything's going to be all right?" Kori asked, checking the shelf one more time.

"Don't worry about it, Kori," Dick said in a hushed voice. "I won't let anything happen to you- to anybody! Yeah, I'm not going to let anything happen…to…us." He blushed, cursing himself for fumbling over his words so clumsily. Kori grinned though, walking up to him and saying,

"Thanks for being so brave, Dick. I don't know what we would havedone without you." She smiled the same beam that made Dick have to focus on not becoming a puddle.

"You're helping a lot too. You're really calm about this. I'd like to show my gratitude." Dick reached out his hand, offering for her to shake it. Kori grinned, rolling her eyesand at the same time finding it adorable. She leaned up slightly, giving Dick a quick peck on the cheek.

"Thanks," she said. Dick was frozen on the spot. He forgot everything. The star student couldn't remember a thing for his life. The only thing on his mind was the fact that Kori Anders had kissed him.

"Kori," he said. She turned around from her current position at the door.

"Yeah?" She asked, turning the doorknob.

"Thanks." He walked past the door, kissing her cheek on the way out as well. Kori stood on the spot, blushing, and fingers lingering on her skin.

The door to the detention room swung open again, revealing Dick and Kori.

"Find anything?" Bea asked, noticing the slight color in Kori's cheeks. Dick shook his head, taking a seat. Kori was about to sit down, but the boy leapt to his feet, pulling the chair out for her. Kori smiled, sitting down. Dick pushed her in, and then took his seat again.

"Awwww," Bea cooed, voice a higher pitch at the end. Rae had a small grin on her face as Bea sighed heavily.

"Can we focus here?" Kitten shot in a nasty tone. "I mean, we're kind of in a crisis situation, people!" She was obviously upset.

"Yeah, let's try to figure out what to do. So nobodys found _anything_?" Victor questioned.

"Wait!" Dick said. "I found something!" He reached into his pocket, pulling out the papers and slapping them on to the desk.

"Yeah?" Gar asked, looking at them. Dick just stared down at the sheets.

"Dick, they're blank," Rae pointed out dully.

Dick sighed. "Yeah. I know. I mean, I just have a feeling that there's something about them…"

"Doesn't look that way." Bea said flatly. "Anything else?"

"It's getting kinda late," Kitten snapped, crossing her arms. There was a small pout on her face. "We should probably figure something out soon…"

"Yeah. Sorry. It was a waste of time." He then stood up with a sigh, slapping the papers on the counter by the sink. The window illuminated them. The white sheets were colored by the shadows of raindrops dripping down the window. The moonlight poured over them, bathing them in a milky tone.

"We could try-" Victor started, but was interrupted by an exclamation.

"Look!" Matt cried, pointing at the paper. "Look!" Dick's gaze immediately went to the sheets of paper, where he was shocked to see what was happening.

Ink was appearing on the paper. Flowing, black letters, bleeding through the crisp white sheets in a delicate and intricate style. Dick rushed over to the paper, staring at it with wide eyes.

"What's it say?" Rae whispered, leaning over her desk to try to get a better view. Dick's heart and breathing simultaneously stopped. This shouldn't be happening. He was a man of logic; he knew this just didn't happen. He couldn't find any words; he was just ticking off in his mind how many scientific laws this was breaking…

"What's it read?" Bea repeated the question, looking at Dick with urging eyes. He finally regained breath, reading,

"One…" There was a pause. All eyes gazed intently on the paper, waiting to see what would happen next. There was an absolute still silence in the room, broken only by the rough noises of the storm outside the window. Rain was whipped by the vicious wind against the strained window.

Words appeared once more on the paper. Kitten gasped lightly, watching them form on their own. Dick read the newly formed word. "Two…"

Thunder boomed outside. It was loud and rattling, seeming to shake the foundation of the school. A bitter, mysterious chill hung in the air, biting at all of the students.

Another word formed. It took longer than the others, and was in a larger, more detailed font. Dick waited patiently for it to form. Once it did, he read in confusion, "Three."

Not a second after Dick breathed those words, a shrill laugh sounded out through the school. It was a jolly, deep laugh, but sounded menacing and maniacal, echoing in every corner of the room and flooding the ears of the listeners with fear and confusion.

The laugh increased, and the light bulbs overhead shattered in one quick motion, painting the room the darkest black.

**

* * *

****A/N: Well, let me know what you think! You know what to do! Read and review! Sorry I took longer than usual to update, I've been really busy lately. I hope I made it up to you though! Well, I'm out. Peace and rock on!**

**-Earth Blues Baby**


	7. Chapter Seven

**Everyday Average Ordinary: Chapter Seven **

**A/N: Hey everybody! I'm back again! Man, the weather here is getting nicer as summer comes. Yay! Who else loves summer? Well, I hope you guys enjoy this chapter. And let me say, wow, I can't believe I've got 87 reviews already! Wow! Thank you guys soooo much, I must say, I love hearing from you. I'm going to try to keep posting replies to you guys, but if I get too many I might have to rethink that…no worries though. Just curious, are there any rules about review responseposting? Sorry, new here...:PWell, I hope all you cats enjoy this story. And remember, lots of reviews! Thanks man.**

**Review Responses:**

**Starfire-is-not-a-wimp:** Hey man awesome to hear from you again! I'm so glad that you dig this story. That's so sweet that you love the story, it really is awesome for an author to see that they've got fans that really dig! Well, to sum it up, I'll say that it was awesome to see your review, I can't wait for another one, and I hope you enjoy the rest of the story. Peace and rock on!

**ILUVCLTT:** Hey my friend! Thanks for another review! I'm glad you dig, and I can't wait for another review! Once again, glad to see the suspense is working. Hope you'll like the next chapter! Can't wait to hear from you again man. Peace and rock on!

**Rose/Jackalobe:** Hey man, thanks for being such a faithful reviewer! It's awesome to hear from you again! I'm glad you're feeling the story. That's awesome that all you readers think that it's suspenseful! Yay, it's working! Yeah, I like choir, the teacher was pretty cool, and some of the songs were okay man. We got to sing The Beatles every once and a while! Hey man, sorry you're teacher wasn't digging the class. I apologize; hate isn't a cool thing at all. Anyways, I'm glad you feel the suspense, and I totally appreciate your reviews my friend! Hope you enjoy all to come! Peace and rock on!

**Differentdestiny4:** Hey man, sweet, thanks for your review! I truly do appreciate the time and thoughts that you put into my story! Thanks so much my friend! I'm really glad that you're enjoying the story. Thanks for the compliments, that's awesome that you dig. Thanks sooo much, I really appreciated your review. I can't wait to hear from you again! Peace and rock on!

**Airhead123:** Hey, awesome, I've got another reader! Thanks so much for the review my friend! I hope to hear from you lots for all the chapters to come! I'm glad that you feel this story, that's sweet that you dig it. I really appreciate the review, glad to see that you're in suspense man! Thanks so much and can't wait for another review! Peace and rock on!

**Mirsan4ever:** Hey man thanks for a review. I really appreciate it; I hope to hear from you lots in the future as well. I'm glad you dig this story. That really was a compliment to hear that I'm doing well with this story. I'm sure you're stories are awesome too; if you tell me what they are I'd like to read them man. Well, thanks so much for your time and thoughts my friend! Peace and rock on!

**Thugette90/Christi:** Hey man sweet! Thanks so much for that awesome and lengthy reply! I really do appreciate it my friend! I'm really glad to see that you dig this story. That's awesome that the suspense I'm going for is working, I love to hear that my readers dig. Thanks for being such an enthusiastic fan, sorry I took so long to update. I've been pretty busy lately, but I'll try to update really quick! And no worries, I talk a lot too. And I don't know how long this is going to be…to tell you the truth, I can't tell you what's going to happen in the next chapter. For that matter, in the next paragraph. My style of writing has always been rather spontaneous, I just write what I hear, see, feel…none of that planning stuff. Tried it, don't feel it. If you guys really dig this so much, I dunno, maybe I can write a sequel for y'all when I'm done here. Let me know what you think. I'll ask everybody towards the end of the story what they think; maybe we'll have more adventures with our favorite not so superheroes:) And yeah, I can't wait to write more stories; I just love telling them sooo much! And I will write more fluff, so no worries. I hope to hear from you lots and often, even after this story is done. You are such an awesome fan and writer! Thanks so much for suggesting me to other people! That is such an honor man. I would really love to hear from your friend!By the way, her art was amazing!I can't wait to hear another chapter in your story, too, please update soon! And wow, thanks so much, I have a loyal fan! Eee! I shall smile to no end now! Thanks so much, man, can't wait to hear from you again. Your loyal fan as well- peace and rock on!

**Neko Starfire:** Hey man, sweet! Thank you soo soo much for the reviews! I love hearing your thoughts, and that's awesome that you're staying with my story! I appreciate it a lot! Thanks so much for your compliments, I have to say, I was quite honored to hear that you thought my story was brilliant. I'm glad you dig, and can't wait to hear from you gain my friend! Thanks so much and enjoy the story! Peace and rock on!

**Redsox:** Hey man, sweet, you a fan of the Sox? I think that was so cool when they won! Anyways, moving on, thanks so much for your review man! That is awesome to hear that I have another fan! Thanks so much for your time and thoughts, and I cannot wait to hear from you again man! Glad to see you dig the suspense. I hope that you enjoy the rest of the story! Peace and rock on!

**Brit the Mighty: **Hey man, thanks so much for reading my story! I truly appreciate it, and loved hearing your review. I noticed you reviewed the first chapter, don't know if you read the next ones, but if not, I've still got quite a few after it:) But I'm glad to hear you dig, that's awesome that everybody is feeling the suspense. Thanks so much for your review, and I can't wait to hear from you some more! Peace and rock on!

**Raveninthedark:** Hey man, awesome, thanks so much for reviewing my story! I'm so glad that you dig it, and I totally cannot wait to hear more of your thoughts man! I'm really glad that you like the suspense. Also, that is totally sweet that you were listening to romantic music during the Beast Boy and Raven moment. That is just too awesome man. What song was it? I probably won't know it because I listen to classic rock, aka the best stuff in the world that most people today are sadly deprived of. Well, what were you listening to? I was listening to the Stones last night! Good stuff, good stuff! Sorry to trail off so much. Well, I am so glad that you're into my story, and I totally look forward to hearing from you again! Thanks for the review and enjoy the chapter! Peace and rock on!

**Nicky:** Hey man thanks for deciding to read it! I loved hearing from you and hope that you review more of this story! That's sweet that you dig the romance and the suspense. I really appreciate you sending in a review, and hope to receive lots and lots from you in the future. Hope that you enjoy the rest of the story! Thanks for the review my friend! Peace and rock on!

**Iluvcltt:** Hey man thanks for another review! Once again, sorry about the cliffhangers, I just love them so much. I dig writing the suspense, and they really add to it in my opinion. No worries, I'm sure I'll write more. To quote the words of the breathtakingly amazing Jimi Hendrix, "We've still got a lot to do here so just be cool and dig the sound." Not only could that man rock, but he knew a lot as well. I advise each and every one of you to go out and find any bits of Hendrix that you can get your hands on. Check with Mom and Dad, they might have some. Check out my profile page for more awesome bands as well! Wow, kind of off topic now, but still, seriously man, I want all you cats to go out and enjoy that which was given to us by amazing artists. Iluvcltt, thanks so much for your review and I can't wait to hear from you again. I truly appreciate your thoughts and the time you're putting into my story. Peace and rock on!

**Mr. Rogers:** Hey man sweet to hear from you again. Thanks for the review my friend. Glad you dig, hope that you enjoy the rest of this story. Atlas isn't the false idol; he's the villain from the episode "Only Human." The big yellow guy who Cyborg plays on a video game and then battles in an arena after the other Titans are kidnapped by him. I don't know if you've seen that episode or not, but that's where he was. He was a bully-type in the show, so I made his character into that as well. He was also a really buff guy about the same time the Titans comics were out…Well, thanks for your time and thoughts my friend! Glad you're feeling the story and I hope you enjoy the rest to come. Peace and rock on!

**PinkFlamingo44:** Hey man thanks for your enthusiasm in my story! I really appreciate hearing from you. I hope that you enjoy this story and I can't wait for your next review! Yeah, I've been told that people are reminded of this episode when reading my story, which I take as a compliment, because that is one of my favorite Boy Meets World episodes. So thankies! Well, I hope you enjoy this story and thanks for the review man! Peace and rock on!

**AnonymousTitan:** Hey man thanks for reading my story! I hope you dig. Yeah, my fave couple is Beast Boy and Raven too! Well, I hope that you enjoy this story. Sounds like you're gonna dig the couples man! Thanks for the review and can't wait to hear from you again. Peace and rock on!

**Gubba-Gubba:** Ha ha, funny review name man! Anyways, thanks for sending in a review! I hope to hear from you again soon and hope you enjoy the story! Glad that you dig the suspense! Thanks man! Peace and rock on!

**Starfirefan05:** Hey man thanks for another review! Ha ha, what made you think I'm a hippie? Was it the obsession with Woodstock? Maybe my vocabulary man. Or maybe the name; Hendrix rocks hard man. He blows out the rest of your mind. Yeah, man, I sort of am a hippie. I'm just a really big Jesus Freak. I go for love and humanity and peace and all that cool stuff, and just love all the cats around me. I walk with Jesus. So, yeah, just keep it in mind man: don't judge people. I'm not saying you will or anything, that's just one of my pet peeves. Yeah, thanks for another review for your Jesus Freak friend. Can't wait to hear from you again man. Peace and rock on!

**Sangi:** Hey man I'm glad you decided to drop by and send in a review my friend! I hope to hear lots and often from you in the future! That's awesome that you dig the story, man, I can't wait to get another review from you. Thanks so much for your time and thoughts! Peace and rock on!

**They-Call-Me-Orange:** Hey man I dig your style. You sound like your totally just happy and digging life. I salute you for figuring out one of the secrets to life: its only a day long at a time. Anyways, thanks for the sweet review my friend. I love the BBRae too, they're my fave couple. Ha ha, I dunno about beating Rob. I kinda need him for the rest of the story…:) That's awesome that you were feeling "special little moment." You were actually one of the people I was thinking of writing that for:) No worries about the Happy Hotel man. I'll meet you there my friend. :P Peace and rock on.

**Seethet: **Hey man thanks, I have a new reader! Thanks so much for your review and time! I really appreciate it my friend. Welcome on board, I'm new too. Most everyone seems really positive though so I'm sure you'll be just fine. Thanks for your compliments; I'll be sure to throw in more Robin/Starfire stuff. Thanks so much and I cannot wait to hear from you again man. Peace and rock on!

**GrYfFiNdOreVeR/Lana and Celila: **Hey man thanks for another review! That's sweet that you dig the story my friends. That's all right about the cookie, and I don't want Lana's lunch either. I'm good, thanks for offering though. You guys sound really tight I'm sure your friendship rocks. I can't wait to hear from you again, thanks so much for the review. Peace and rock on!

**Mrmistoffelees:** Hey man thanks for reviewing again. You really like guessing about it, don't you:) That's cool. Sorry, I'm still not gonna say who it is though man. You'll just have to find out! Can't wait to hear from you again, and hope you enjoy the story. Peace and rock on!

**Iluvcltt:** Hey man, awesome, thanks for another review. I really appreciate the review, it sounds like I have a really hardcore fan. Thanks man. I hope you dig these chapters and I'll try to update as soon as I can, okay? Thanks so much and I can't wait to hear from you again! Peace and rock on!

**SeverineFlower:** Hey man thanks for your time and thoughts. I'm really glad to hear your enthusiasm my friend. I hope you enjoy the chapter and the rest of the story and I can't wait for another review. Thanks so much man! Peace and rock on!

**Iluvcltt:** Hey man not sure if you're the same as above, but if you are, sorry. Anyways, thanks so much for your review! I dig the BB/Rae fluff too, and I can try to work in some Gar and Rob stuff over Rae somewhere in here…Anyways, thank you so much for your thoughts and time and I hope you dig. Can't wait to hear from you again my friend! Peace and rock on!

**Ttitansfan/Shelly:** Hey man thanks so much! You sound really enthusiastic about the story, I really appreciate it man. I can't wait to hear from you again! Happy readings to you, and I hope you enjoy the story man. Peace and rock on!

**Sparrowing: **Hey man thanks for the review! No worries, just glad you're digging the story my friend. I like just chilling, you know, not planning anything and just rolling with the day. Good stuff man. Well, I can't wait to hear from you again and hope that you enjoy this story whenever you have the chance to. :) Thanks so much! Peace and rock on!

**

* * *

Chapter Seven **

_Not a second after Dick breathed those words, a shrill laugh sounded out through the school. It was a jolly laugh, but sounded menacing and maniacal, echoing in every corner of the room and flooding the ears of the listeners with fear and confusion. _

_The laugh increased, and the light bulbs overhead shattered in one quick motion, painting the room the darkest black._

Kitten screamed. Kori fell into Dick's arms. Bea grabbed a hold of Victor's hand. Rob cussed. Rae called for Gar in a whimper.

"We have to get out of here!" Victor's voice cut through the darkness. There was the sound of a chair scraping backwards.

"Wait!" Dick called. "Don't move just yet. There's broken glass all around us!" The scraping stopped.

"What do we do then?" Kitten asked.

"Not much we _can_ do, huh Grayson?" Rob shot. Dick paused a moment, then announced,

"You're right. Everybody, just walk _very carefully._" He then stood up, keeping a careful grip on Kori's hand. He led the way, taking cautious measure to make sure the path was clear for the others. Kori was the first one to come to mind… He felt the door with the tip of his shoe, reaching for the handle. He pulled the door open, practically lifting Kori outside so she wouldn't step in the pile of glass at the door. She weakly smiled, holding his hand even outside.

Bea and Victor went through the door, Victor carrying Bea bridal style. Kori giggled at this, and Bea shrugged, saying,

"Better than getting my new shoes all yucky," she said, then gave Kori a wink.

Kitten jumped through the door, glaring at Kori as she saw the dreamy look on Dick's face. She strode over to the boy, flipping her long blond hair as she struck a pose and stood next to him. Dick's attention didn't falter.

Rob walked through the door, muttering under his breath. Allan, whose eyes were wide with surprise and fear, followed him. Gar and Rae followed Allan out the door. Rae was shaking slightly, and Gar had his arm around her shoulders, whispering "sshhh" softly and soothingly to her. He led her to the side, stroking her silky hair and whispering into her ear.

"Where do we go-" Kitten started, but was interrupted by Dick's inquiry.

"Where's Matt?" He said.

"Matt! Yo, dude, c'mon!" Allan yelled through the door. "Matt!" He repeated. Dick walked forward, opening the door all the way. Light from the hallway went into the detention room, illuminating it slightly. Shards of glass reflected the light, casting glowing sparks to float through the room. They reflected everything inside.

Matt was nowhere to be seen.

"Ooooh!" Bea moaned, leaping back into Victor's arms.

Rob leaned in to get a better look inside. "Where was he sitting?" He asked. Allan pointed to one of the desks.

"That's right next to where Gil was sitting!" Kitten exclaimed in a high-pitched voice. The nine looked in, seeing the seats where Gil and Matt had once been. They sat crookedly aligned with the window, almost glowing in the eerie moonlight.

"He's gone…" Bea whispered, eyes wide. "Please, can we leave?" She begged. Dick nodded.

"We should go somewhere to think. There's nothing we can do standing here. C'mon." Dick then led them back to the only other safe spot they knew: the janitor's office.

Gar laughed lightly as they walked through the door. "Never thought I'd be hanging out in here." He said, trying to lighten the mood. Kori gave a weak giggle as she and Dick sat on the desk. Kitten immediately leapt up next to Dick, sitting as close as possible. Rob leaned against the shelf, eyeing Gar, who was standing behind Rae, his arms casually yet protectively wrapped around her waist. Victor walked through, about to put Bea down when the girl said,

"You know Vic, I'm feeling kind of lightheaded. You might want to hold me a little longer." Victor grinned slightly, keeping the girl in his arms.

Allan was the last one to trudge through the door. He was looking at the floor, still in shock from his best friend vanishing. He closed the door behind him, and leaned against it with heavy eyes.

"So…what do we do now?" Kori whispered, looking at the floor.

"We have to figure something out," Dick said. "It's almost 8:30 now. We've got to go with everything we have."

"Which is hardly anything," Rob snorted, crossing his arms.

Dick gritted his teeth. "We'll go with what we know. What we know is that you, Gar and Rae heard noises in the library, and something on the top floor. We know there is something weird in that room I found the papers in. So that's what we're going with."

"You mean we're going back?" Bea exclaimed, throwing her hands in the air, narrowly missing Victor's head. He dodged her hand expertly from years of agility training.

"Yes. Same groups as before. Kori, Kitten and I will go back to the classroom where those papers were found. You, Victor and Allan will check out this floor. And Rob, Rae and Gar will check out the library. At least one person in each group has a cell phone, right?" Glances were exchanged, and then everyone nodded. "Good. If you find out anything, _anything at all, _call us and we'll all come and check it out. We're not risking losing another person. Meet back _here _in an hour, all right?" Nods came from everyone. "Let's go then."

They set off out the door. Victor, Bea and Allan stayed on the bottom floor.

"Where should we look?" Bea asked, after finally being let down from Victor's arms. The football player felt a sort of regret. He would've loved to just hold her for the rest of the night.

"Why don't we just head down the hallway?" Victor suggested. After receiving nods from Bea and Allan, they set off down the hallway. Allan drifted to the front, eyes nervously shifting from side to side. Victor and Bea stayed behind him, carefully scanning the area, hand-in-hand.

"Victor?" Bea asked, leaning her head against his shoulder. The captain smiled.

"Yeah, Bea?" He asked.

"Is everything going to be okay?" She asked in a small voice. "I mean, another person just disappeared, Matt's just gone. What if we all leave? Victor, I'm scared." Victor let go of her hand and slid his arm around her shoulders.

"Bea, its okay. I'm not going to let anything happen to you. I couldn't." He choked out the last part. He felt like she was his responsibility. He wouldn't be able to forgive himself if something, anything, happened to her, and he could've been able to stop it.

"Victor?" Bea said, feeling safer in the warmth of his hold.

"Mmm-hmm?" He replied.

"Thanks." Victor squeezed her shoulder, and followed Allan to the end of the hallway.

"See anything odd?" Bea asked, looking around. Nothing seemed out of place or telltale of anything mysterious.

"No. But what's that opened door?" Allan asked with shifty eyes. Because of Matt's disappearance, he seemed very paranoid.

"Just the janitor's office. We must've forgotten to close the door." Victor said calmly, gazing down the hallway. The door was opened, casting a shadow over the moonlight that drowned the entry.

Bea whispered, "It looks…creepy."

* * *

Rob, Gar and Rae arrived back into the library. It looked just the same as how they left it.

"Should we stay together this time? Y'know, since Matt just disappeared and all?" Rob suggested.

Rae nodded, saying, "We should check out that corner again. Where we heard the pounding the first time." Gar nodded, walking over. The three went to the area where they had heard the noise before. They looked around. Nothing seemed to be screaming at them right away.

"Check everywhere you can. Maybe there'll be like, I don't know, a secret passage or something." Gar said, grinning goofily.

"At our _school_? I seriously doubt it," Rob mumbled. He walked over to the bookcase anyway, though, and started shuffling through papers.

Rae walked over to the window, looking outside. The storm raged on. It all seemed so close, their freedom.

"Hey, you okay?" Gar asked in a concerned voice. Rae sighed, saying,

"Are we going to get out of here, Gar? I want the truth, too." Gar wrapped his arms around her shoulders. Rae reached up and grabbed his hand.

"Rae," he whispered. "You know that I won't let something happen to you. Not now. Not ever." She smiled softly at that comment. Gar saw it, and gazed at her, ivory skin illuminated in the starlight. He found himself leaning down, gently grazing her cheek with his lips. She stood there, wide-eyed and in slight shock. She turned around, looking up to face him.

"Gar…" she whispered, looking deeply into his eyes. His cheeks began to color slightly and he seemed somewhat flustered. She looked deeper into his eyes, somewhat shocked at what had just happened. If he had been any other guy, she would've smacked him upside the head. But there as something about Gar that was different. She smiled lightly at him. Gar grinned back, blush deepening. He reached forward, pulling Rae in for a hug. She stood there; arms around him, just letting him hold her. With everything going on, she felt like things were a little bit better in Gar's arms. Gar closed his eyes, enjoying the moment. He slowly ran his fingers though her hair. His breath was slow, Rae's head lifting with every one. The two stood there, locked in each other's arms.

"Guys!" Rob yelled. The two froze.

"Rae! Gar! C'mere!" Rob called again. Gar's brow furrowed, mentally cursing Rob for interrupting the wonderful moment. Rae pulled away from him, looking into his eyes and blushing slightly.

"C'mon," she said, taking his hand and leading him to where Rob stood. Gar sighed slightly, disappointed that the track star had ruined the moment.

"Yes?" Rae asked, seeing Rob knocking on the wall.

"Listen," he mumbled, tapping the wall. "It sounds hollow." He knocked, and, sure enough, a hollow echo rung out.

"Strange…it has to be solid." Gar said, leaning down to investigate the wall. The walls were smooth, there were no entrances, and nothing seemed to show any obvious signs of being odd or out of place.

"Weird." Rae murmured.

* * *

Kori, Dick and Kitten entered the classroom where the papers had been found before.

"Do you, like, see anything?" Kitten asked as she quickly glanced around the room. It looked identical to how they had left it a while earlier. Dick shook his head, but headed to the desks.

"Search around anyway. There might be something we missed." Kori and Kitten nodded, and began wandering around the room. They searched it even more intensely than they had before. But in all of their searching, nothing new came up.

"Dick?" Kori asked with a sigh. "I think we should leave now. We've been in here almost fifteen minutes and nothing seems out of place. I think we should go look somewhere else."

Dick sighed heavily. "Yeah," he said. "You're right. Let's go look down the hallway. We might find something down there." Kitten nodded, and the three headed out the door.

The hallway was chilled with a cold air that hung thick and ominous. A silence seemed to swim up and down, past the doors and swirling around the heads of the three standing there. The air almost seemed to glow with a certain mystery that silently beckoned them.

"Where should we head?" Kori whispered, nervous to interrupt the dangerous feeling surrounding the three.

"Let's just walk down here. Keep your eyes open." Dick instructed them, heading down the hallway. The school looked very different without the usual buzz surrounding it that they had become custom to. The lockers stood silently, instead of swinging shut or emitting clangs of metal on metal. The doors were closed, instead of trafficking the usual swarms of students. The voices of teachers and students no longer drowned the hallways, instead, the silent buzz hung still.

"It's…strange." Kitten whispered as they neared the end of the hallway. There was a large window, showing the school grounds. Tall trees lined patches of lush green grass. There was a small pavement road heading into the parking lot, now more closely resembling an ocean with the small flood running down it. The moonlight poured through the window. Kori noticed it illuminating a small patch on the ground at the foot of the window.

"What is that?" She whispered, scurrying up and leaning down. She picked the item up, examining it and twirling it through her fingers.

"What did you find, Kori?" Dick asked, walking up. He kneeled down next to her, looking at the item in between her fingers.

It was a small, silver key. It was an old-fashioned one, with large, protruding teeth and a rough ring on the end. It appeared was glowing, bathed in the light of the full moon.

"It looks really, really old." Kitten said as the two stood up. Kori ran her fingers over it. It felt old, chiseled in certain places with rough areas coming up, threatening to cut any finger that ran over it too quickly.

"Does it go in any locks here? It looks too old." Kori whispered. Dick shrugged his shoulder.

"This school is pretty old too. Its one of the oldest buildings on the old side of town." He pointed out. Kitten nodded, the fact sounding familiar but having not remembered it herself.

"Should we try it? We could-" Whatever she may have been wanting to suggest was never heard. At that moment, the all to familiar sound of the PA system clicking on broke over her voice.

Kori whimpered as the buzzing and popping rung through her ears. Dick stared at the ceiling, wrapping his arm around her shoulder. The buzzing soon was covered up by the band music again. After a few measures of a familiar tune, the voice intruded the moonlit hallway.

"_Darkened sky signals the time,_

_All of you ignored the signs._

_You better all surrender to fate,_

_Because you're back down to eight."_

The eight remainders looked wildly through the rooms they stood in. One in particular whipped their head around, checking on their group. They quickly counted one head other than theirs. That is when they realized who had disappeared. No. It couldn't be. It was...

**

* * *

****A/N: Man, I think that might be the worst cliffhanger I ever did to you people. Sorry my friends. Well, you know what to do. Read and review! The more reviews I get, the sooner I'll update! I really want to hear all of your thoughts and hope to receive many of them! Thanks for sticking with the story and I hope you're all digging it. And please, send in a review! Peace and rock on-**

**Earth Blues Baby**


	8. Chapter Eight

**Everyday Average Ordinary: Chapter Eight **

**A/N: Hey all my friends! Back with another chapter! I hope you all dig this one! Thanks for all the reviews man. I really dig hearing what you have to say. Enjoy the chappie!**

**Review Responses:**

**Sparrowing:** Hey man thanks for another review! Glad to see you are digging the story my friend! Yeah, sorry about the cliffie, I just had to throw it in though…:P And please do not die of suspense! That's not what I was going for man! Yeah, thanks for another review and I can't wait to hear from you again! Peace and rock on!

**Starfirefan05:** Hey man good to hear from you! Yeah, I kinda stand out in a crowd :P. I'll be the one jumping up and down screaming about something random in one of my band tees. :) Yeah, thanks for the review man. I hope you enjoy the next chapter! And that 'man' at the end of your review was sweet. :D Very awesome. Man. Peace and rock on!

**Mr. Rogers:** Hey man thanks for the review! Sorry about the cliffie again, I couldn't resist though. Anyways, I hope that you dig the rest of the story and enjoy it lots! Can't wait to hear from you again! Peace and rock on!

**Severine Flower: **Hey, good to hear from you again man! Was it really that scary at one in the morning? Sweet. Well, I hope you enjoyed the chapter and will dig the rest of the story. Good to hear from you and can't wait for your next review! And I apologize for the insomnia man. Peace and rock on!

**Seethet: **Hey man thanks for another review! That's sweet that you dig. Oh, and I kinda figured you were a girl just because of the 'et' at the end. I kinda just use 'man' a lot in my vocabulary, regardless of the gender I'm speaking to. Ask the cats here, they'll tell you the same thing. Anyways, thanks so much for the compliment! I cannot wait to hear from you again and hope you feel the next chapter. Peace and rock on!

**Lil-swt-angel-:** Hey thanks for the review man! Sweet, I've got another reader! I hope you dig the story! That's awesome to hear your enthusiasm! I can't wait to hear from you again. Thanks so much. And no worries my friend, no changes in my pairings. I'm a pretty big BBRae fan so…:D Thanks for your time and thoughts and enjoy man! Peace and rock on!

**D12Artist:** Hey man sweet to hear from you! Thanks for the review. Awesome, I have another reader! Well I hope you dig the story. And thanks so much for the compliments. I really appreciate that; it was a really nice compliment my friend. Pat yourself on the back for being an awesome compliment giver:) I can't wait to hear from you again and I hope you dig the next chapter man. Peace and rock on!

**PinkFlamingo44: **Hey man sorry about the cliffhanger! And sorry you're kinda down right now. Anything I can do? I'd be happy to try to help you with whatever, or just listen if you need someone to. Don't let it get you down though. The suns still coming up in the morning. :) So smiles! Thanks for your review! I can't wait to hear from you again. And that's sweet you dig the secret passageway. XD Sweet man. Peace and rock on!

**FreedomDreamer:** Hey thanks for the review man! And I appreciate the comment. I think all of my chapters have been left on cliffies now…probably wont change either. I'm glad you're digging the story and can't wait for your next review! Enjoy! And sorry, can't tell! It's underneath though:) Peace and rock on!

**Raveninthedark:** Hey man thanks for another review! Glad you dig the cliffhanger. And I agree, rock is awesome man. You like Linkin Park? Mmm, I don't really, but that's cool. If you dig it, then sweet. I'm more into classic rock. My faves are like Jimi Hendrix, Aerosmith, Led Zeppelin, The Doors, Van Halen, The Rolling Stones, AC/DC, The Grateful Dead, Guns N Roses, STYX, and The White Stripes. Y'know, all that good stuff. ;D Awesome, great stuff. I'm actually listening to The Doors right now. :) Well, I can't wait to hear from you again! Send in a review soon! Peace and rock on!

**ILUVCLTT:** Hey man thanks for being such a loyal fan! Another review, awesome! The cliffhanger I think was my fave, but probably cause I'm writing and not reading…And, unfortunately, it WAS one of the ones you listed…who was everyone there. :P Thanks so much for the review, I'll try to update soon. Your enthusiasm in the story is really a motivator! Thanks so much and can't wait to hear from you again! Peace and rock on!

**Brit the Mighty: **Please do not despise me! I cannot help my urge to put in the cliffies. I really can't, sorry man! But thanks for your review! It was funny, sorry for the future insomnia and band paranoia. Send me the therapy bill and I'll spot you man. :D I can't wait to hear from you again though. Enjoy the chapter and I'll look forward to another review! Thanks man. Peace and rock on!

**They-Call-Me-Orange:** Hey man have I told you how much I love your reviews? You should get some kind of reward, or something. I shall give it to you! But thanks for your thoughts man! That's awesome; you're so full of enthusiasm, regardless of whether or not you took your Happy pills today. :) And no worries, I'm gonna get some BBRae in there with no Rob! Just wait my friend! Is it really gofer month? I should wear a costume or something…anyways, thanks for the review man. It was totally awesome, I can't wait for another! Enjoy the chapter! Peace and rock on!

**Starfire-is-not-a-wimp:** Hey thanks for another review my friend! Yeah, I like the fluff too; glad you're digging it. I can't say who's gonna disappear next though…anyways, thanks for your thoughts! Thanks for your enthusiasm and I hope you enjoy the rest of the story man! Can't wait to hear from you again! Peace and rock on!

**Rose/Jackalobe:** Hey man, thanks for another review! That's awesome that you're digging the story man! And sorry about the cliffies, I can't help myself. And I hope to see "It's a College Thing" updated quickly! Hurry! I hope for lots of BBRae fluffiness! And yes, I write the songs myself. Glad you dig. And that's good you're not into hate. I have a hard time with people who focus heavily on the negatives. Its like, yeah, there is some bad stuff going on in the world. But there's also a lot of good stuff too. I mean, you can see something negative a hundred times, but its not going to impact you as much as something like a six year old child giving his toy money to a homeless man. That's something that impacts you, and its that that keeps you up at night. Because it's real. There are people out there who are out to make this world a better place. And if all you do is focus on the shadows, you'll never see the light that surrounds them. Thanks for the review, and can't wait for another one! Peace and rock on!

**Scathac's Warrior: **Hey man thanks for your thoughts! Yeah, I've heard people are reminded of the Boy Meets World episode, which is awesome man. I wasn't trying to base the story off of it, but I'm taking the comparison as a compliment because its one of the best episodes! And please no violence! I shall update and then all will be good! Thanks for the review and I can't wait to hear from you very soon! Peace and rock on!

**Pickles12:** Hey man sweet, I have a new reader! Thanks for reviewing my story man! I'm using Dick Grayson because that was one of Robin's identities in the comic book series. It is pretty funny, though. XD It's great hearing your thoughts and I can't wait for your next review! Enjoy the story man. Peace and rock on!

**Thugette90/Christi: **Hey man thanks for another review from my faithful fan! I'm glad that you're digging the suspense. I love hearing your enthusiasm! That would be awesome if you could have your friend read the story; I hope she gets her computer back soon man! Thanks for reviewing my other story, you are such an awesome fan, your reviews just make me smile and they really make me want to keep on writing. Thanks so much! hugs And I'm glad that my story made your day a little bit better! That's what I'm aiming for man, just trying to help people out. Hope tomorrow is an awesome day for you, and the rest to come! I can't wait to hear from you again! Enjoy the chapter and the rest of the story man! Peace and rock on!

**Arwynthevamplover:** Hey man thanks for checking this out I hope you dig. Sorry about the cliffhanger, I really like writing them into my story for suspense though. :) And thanks for putting me on your faves list. :D I shall smile now and update quickly especially for you. Thanks so much for the review and I can't wait for your next one! Peace and rock on!

**Free-Desert-Wind: **Hey man thanks for another review! I really appreciate your comments my friend. Makes me smile to hear that you dig my style of writing. :D hugs Thanks so much! I'm glad you're digging the story and really hope you enjoy this next chapter. If you like this one you may get into my newest one "Webs of Glass." Check it out if you want. Enjoy the chapter my friend! I can't wait to hear from you again! Peace and rock on!

**Rogue Violent Kitty:** Hey man thanks for checking this out! I hope you dig the story. I'm glad that you like it so far, and hope you enjoy this next story man. Enjoy and I can't wait to hear from you again! Peace and rock on!

**

* * *

**

**Chapter Eight**

"_Darkened sky signals the time,_

_All of you ignored the signs._

_You better all surrender to fate,_

_Because you're back down to eight."_

_The eight remainders looked wildly through the rooms they stood in. One in particular whipped their head around, checking on their group. They quickly counted one head other than theirs. That is when they realized who had disappeared. It was…_

"Bea." Victor choked out the name, barely able to speak. The thunder crashed behind him, but he was deaf to all the noise. Inside his head was a violent ringing.

"Bea!" He yelled, hoping she would jump out from the shadows; hoping this was just some sick joke. "BEA!"

"Dude…where is she?" Allan whispered, shaking slightly. Victor's eyes glazed over.

"DO YOU THINK I KNOW WHERE THE HECK SHE WENT? ITS NOT LIKE I WANTED HER TO FREAKING DISAPPEAR!" Allan backed off.

"Sorry man. I…didn't…"

Victor ignored him. This couldn't be happening…it just couldn't…moments before he had assured her that he wouldn't let anything happen…and now she was gone…

"No," he choked out, before hearing his cell phone buzzing in his pocket. His head jerked up.

"Do you think its Bea?" Allan whispered.

"I hope so!" Victor exclaimed, hope glimmering through his words. He put the phone to his ear. "Hello? B-"

"Victor!" Dick's voice was on the other end. "Is everyone in your group okay? Kori and Kitten are still here…"

"No. I…we…Bea is…gone." He choked out painfully. There was a pause on the other end, just the soothing buzzing sound.

"Bea is gone?" Dick whispered back.

"Yeah," Victor said, voice laden with remorse.

"Victor, I- I'm sorry. Do you want to have everyone meet up again?" Dick offered, imagining how Victor must have felt. He wouldn't even allow himself to even think about Kori dis…

He stopped and listened to Victor's words. "No. You guys keep looking. Allan and I are gonna search down here for Bea. She can't be that far away…"

"All right. I'm going to call Rob, Rae and Gar and make sure they're all right, okay Victor?" Dick said.

"Okay. Look for Bea too, all right?" He added with a choking voice.

"No problem man. I hope you find her." Dick said, before hanging up the phone. He dialed the number to Rob's cell phone.

"Hey? This Dick?" Rob's voice asked.

"Yeah. It is." Dick answered. There was a snicker.

"Knew it. Somebody in your group disappear?" He asked.

"No. Kori and Kitten are with me right now. I just talked to Victor though. Bea's gone." There was a pause on the other end.

"Oh. Are we supposed to meet again?" Rob asked.

"No. Keep looking around for anything, including Gil, Matt and Bea. We've still got a half hour until we're scheduled to meet again in the janitor's office. All right?" Dick said.

"Okay man. Call if you find anything." Rob said.

"No problem. You too," Dick said before hanging up the phone. Two wide-eyed girls faced him.

"Is she…really gone?" Kitten whispered.

Dick nodded. "I don't think Victor would lie about something like that…"

"Dick! I'm scared!" Kitten said, throwing herself into his arms. He stiffened up, unsure what to do.

"Uh…sorry. Don't. Worry." Dick said, trying to be comforting and patting the girl's back.

"Kitten, don't worry, if we all stick together," Kori said, taking her shoulders and jerking her from the boy. "I'm still here for you, and we'll find Bea." Kitten seemed somewhat glowering at Kori for ripping her from Dick.

"Yeah. Thanks, Kori. We should start looking again now."

"You're right," Dick said, heading down the hallway. "We need to keep searching." Kori nodded, she and Kitten hurrying up to him.

* * *

Upstairs, Gar, Rob and Rae were standing in the library in a slight shock. Rob had told the other two of the fact that Bea was gone, and they couldn't believe it…

"What are we going to do?" Rae whispered, her voice almost gone completely.

"We have to keep looking," Gar said, trying to disguise the fear in his voice. "Maybe we'll find something that will help Bea…and the others…"

"And us," Rob said as he led the way to the library. Gar and Rae followed, looking at each other anxiously.

Inside, it appeared just as they left it. Dimly lit and eerily quiet.

"Where should we look?" Gar asked, wishing they could all just escape right then.

"Let's check-" They were interrupted by a banging noise. It was coming from the opposite end of the room, by the checkout counter.

"Guys, c'mon!" Rae urged as she rushed over. The three looked around wildly, trying to find where the noise would be coming from. It grew louder as Gar put his ear to the door to the librarian's office.

"In here! Hurry!" He said, opening the door and walking inside.

The banging stopped.

"What…what was that?" Rae whispered, looking around. The room had a small desk with computer and chair, a bookshelf, a table with books needing repair on it, and a window overlooking the tennis courts.

"It sounded…metallic." Gar noted.

"What's metallic in here that could have been causing the noise?" Rob questioned, glancing around the office. Nothing seemed obvious right away. Gar then perked up, saying,

"The vent! It could've been coming from inside the vent!" Rob and Rae looked up to see the ventilation system coming in through the wall.

"How are we going to check?" Rob asked, observing it.

"Rae, you could probably fit through there." Gar said with a shrug. "Do you want to try?"

"I don't really want to…but I could-" Rae was interrupted by Rob's cell phone going off.

"Hello?" He answered nervously. There was a pause. Rob continued, "Oh. Sorry. We heard banging, and we're going to try to check it out-" He was cut off and began listening once more. "Yeah. Sure. See you in a few." He hung up the phone.

"Was that Dick?" Gar questioned. Rob nodded his head.

"They're in the janitor's office. They're coming up here though, said to wait before we do anything." Gar nodded. He looked over at Rae, who was gazing out the window, shivering slightly. Before he could react, Rob had slipped his arm around her shoulders, pulling her to him.

"Don't worry, Rae," he said softly. He leaned down towards her. "It's gonna be okay. Rob's gonna make sure of it." Rae cringed ever so slightly, saying,

"Thanks Rob, please let go of me now." Rae said. Rob grinned.

"C'mon, Rae, you can be scared. Three people have already disappeared, you'd have to be crazy not to be…" He leaned in more, lips inches from her.

"Rob, please let me go," she said, trying to pull out of his strong grip. He leaned in, lips almost caressing her cheek.

"Dude, she asked you to leave her alone." Gar said firmly, walking up and pushing his shoulder. Rob stumbled back, letting go of Rae.

"Watch it, man. Don't tell me what to do," Rob spat angrily. Gar glared and growled back,

"When Rae tells you to do something, you do it. Got it?" Rob walked up, chest puffed up and glaring.

"Yeah? What are you gonna do?" He said, shoving his chest.

"Hey! You guys, c'mon! Knock it off! Rae said as she grabbed Gar's shoulders and pulled him back towards her. His neck and shoulders were tight with frustration and anger towards Rob. "Easy…" She whispered, rubbing her fingertips softly into his shoulders. "Calm down, Gar," she told him in another whisper.

"Hello?" Dick's voice said as the office door opened. "Thought we heard something going on in here. Is everything okay?" He asked. Rob and Gar glared at each other, but Rob managed to slip out,

"Yeah. Great."

"What's going on in here? Did you hear the banging again?" Kitten asked as she huddled up close to Dick.

"Yeah. We thought it might be coming from up in the vent." Gar said, noticing that Rae had stopped rubbing his shoulders. He inwardly urged her to start again.

"How are we going to find out? Can you look inside?" Allan asked, peering at the vent.

"Guess we'll have to try. Victor, could you see through if you climb on the desk?" Dick asked, knowing that Victor was the tallest. The football captain nodded and stood on the desk. The others couldn't help but notice that his grin had now disappeared…

"It's too dark to see through. But it looks like…" He started tugging on the vent after noticing the screws were missing. It came loose, revealing a cold, metallic tunnel.

"That's strange," Kitten whispered. "Why did it just come off with it?"

Dick dismissed this. "The janitor was probably replacing an air filter or something and forgot to tighten the screws." He said. Kitten nodded timidly, looking up at the vent fearfully.

"There's only one way we can figure this out. It's a big vent, somebody's going to need to climb through it." Rob said, shrugging his shoulders as if it were no big deal.

"Any volunteers?" No one said a word. Thunder crashed, rain sprinkled the windows and wind howled fiercely.

"I'm sorry," Kori said. "I'd do it, but its kind of narrow…I don't think my hips would get through there." Dick turned towards Rae, the smallest in the group.

"M-me?" She choked out, eyes wide.

"Would you do it? I don't think anyone else is going to fit through." Dick offered.

Rob snickered. "What about you, Logan? You're skinny, got no muscle on you." He sniggered.

"Shoulders are too wide." He grunted out, remembering Rae's request not to get into a fight with him.

"I'll try…" Rae whispered, stepping up to look through it. "Could somebody give me a boost?"

"Allow me," Rob said, walking up to her. Rae took in a sharp breath, but climbed on his shoulders and hoisted herself through the vent system. After being wished good luck, she started crawling forward, breaths quick and sharp.

Rob walked to the back of the room next to Gar. "Sorry, man. You just don't have a chance. No way she can resist this," he said, flexing his arm and making the obvious point that he was indeed more muscular than Gar.

"Shut up Rob," Gar warned with a clenched jaw.

Rob smirked. "We'll be a hot couple though, don't you think?" Rob said. "She's really cute. And her personality is, like, wow."

"Watch it, dude. One more word and you're in for it." Gar said, taking a step closer and glaring at him, getting his point across.

"You seriously think she likes you? Man, what fantasy world are you living in? Don't you know, a girl like that would never give a guy like you a chance."

Gar's cheeks were on fire. His common sense left him, and he socked Rob in the stomach. The track star doubled back, staring widely at Gar's sudden action.

"They're fighting!" Kitten squealed as Rob took a swing at Gar.

"Hey!" Victor walked over, grabbing Gar's collar and pulling him away, and shoving Rob in the chest, the powerful blow causing him to stumble back slightly. "Are you two serious? You're fighting when all of this is going on?"

"It's not my fault, he-" Gar started to state that he was just defending Rae when Dick cut him off.

"I really don't care who started it or what it was about. It's stupid and pointless. Don't touch each other, look at each other, or talk to each other." The two glared at each other with arrows shooting from their eyes, then turned up to the vent.

Rae crawled through, listening for the banging. She was trembling, her cheeks red from the cold sting of the chilly air inside the vent. She was coming to what she knew was the end. She was about to turn back when she heard something a little ahead…

"Is she all right?" Kori asked as they watched the vent. Rae had been up there about fifteen minutes, but it seemed like hours longer.

"I'm going up to look for her." Gar announced, jumping on the desk. At that moment, a clamoring was heard rattling through the vent, and he paused to watch. "Rae?" He called. The girl appeared at the vent, cheeks red and eyes wide. Gar reached up, lifting her down. She was panting, and leaning into Gar for support.

"Rae, what's the matter?" Kori asked in a concerned tone.

"I- I heard something…" Rae panted, eyes closed tight and gripping Gar's tee shirt in fear. He could feel her body trembling heavily against him, and hugged her as a sense of reassurance.

"What was it?" Victor inquired, hoping for news of Bea's whereabouts.

"It was…voices. I heard muffled voices coming from through the vent." There was a pause as everyone let the news sink in.

"That means there's someone in here with us…" Kitten whispered.

"Not some_one_," Dick corrected in an unnaturally quavering voice. "Several."

* * *

**A/N: Yeah, I know, another cliffie...Anyways, thanks for all the reviews and for checking out my story everybody! By the way, if you're digging the mystery and supsense in this (not to mention the romance ;) ), then you'll probably dig my new story "Webs of Glass." Thanks so much for reading! Review please! More reviews quicker updates. Thanks! Peace and rock on-**

**Earth Blues Baby**


	9. Chapter Nine

**Everyday Average Ordinary: Chapter Nine**

Hey everyone! Earth Blues Baby, back from her mysterious absence:P  
Seriously though, sorry for being out so long man. Lots of stuff going on in my life, then my computer crashed, once I got it back on I was on vacation, internet card for my laptop broke, had to wait for the store to get the right kind in, once I got it I left again, came back and my battery broke so I couldn't use my laptop, had to wait for a new battery, went to camp, came home, battery still wasn't there, went on vacation with my family, got back, battery came, and here I am. :) Seriously though, I'm sorry I left you guys for so long and couldn't tell you about the stuff going on man. I hope you'll still dig it though! And I don't think I can do review responses anymore, getting too many. Peace and rock on-  
Earth Blues Baby

* * *

"_What was it?" Victor inquired, hoping for news of Bea's whereabouts.  
__"It was…voices. I heard muffled voices coming from through the vent." There was a pause as everyone let the news sink in.  
__"That means there's someone in here with us…" Kitten whispered.  
__"Not someone," Dick corrected in an unnaturally quavering voice. "Several."_

Kitten let out a surprised gasp. "What are we going to do? Where should we go?" She asked in a panicky voice.

"Are you kidding me, where do we go? Is there anywhere safe left in this building?" Rob shot sarcastically.

"Stop fighting." Dick told them. "Listen, it's nine thirty right now. We have two and a half hours until…" He paused, groping for the right words. "Until our deadline. So this is what we're going to do- we continue with what we have. Strange banging noises coming from the walls and ceiling, voices coming from wherever the air duct leads to, and papers that have timed words appearing on them. Kori, Kitten and I will go back to the room where I found the papers. Gar, Rob and Rae will check this hallway since most of the banging and the voices were heard here. Allan and Victor, you two go back to the janitors closet and look for flashlights. He has to have some in there. Then go to the detention room and look for anything in there that could give us a hint. In a half hour, we meet back at our safe spot." Dick instructed expertly, as if he had been leading armies for years.

"The janitors closet?" Kori asked. Dick nodded.

"Let's go." He told them. Victor opened the door, and led Allan out and downstairs. Allan had to stride quickly to keep up with Victor's long steps and fast pace. They quickly made it to the janitor's closet, Victor saying,

"Flip the light." Allan nodded, and the room was illuminated with dim light. The two searched the shelves for flashlights, until Allan announced,

"Victor, I found some over here. They look pretty strong, too." The football captain walked over, and saw the flashlights. They were very big, with about the same circumference as a coffee pot. There were three on the shelf. Victor reached for them, grabbing one for him and Allan.

"All right. Let's check out the detention room now." He said, turning the light off. As they walked down the hallway, Allan jogging after Vic, the shorter of the duo asked,

"What are we looking for, exactly?"

"Anything that shouldn't be there, I guess." Victor said with a shrug. He switched on the flashlight, and an intense light flooded the room to the corners. He swung it from left to right, but the only thing that seemed out of place was all of the glass shards on the floor.

"Hey Allan, you wanna go grab a broom from that closet?" Victor told him, making it more of a command than a request. Allan nodded and scurried off.

Victor lowered the beam from his flashlight and peered inside. The glass looked like solid and jagged bits of milk, the moonlight was reflecting on them so amazingly. The glass seemed to have all shattered in a line with the ray of moonlight. There were the two desks next to the glass, still in the silver pool of the full moon, where Gil and Matt had been sitting before they vanished.

Curious, Victor stepped forward, standing on tiptoes and making his way through the door carefully. He managed to only crush a few smaller shards, and then was on clean ground. He walked over to the desks, leaning down to look at them. His breath quickened, it was the only thing he could hear…the crickets…thick air, hanging on his every heartbeat…

"Victor."

"Ahh!" He cried, jumping in the air and turning in mid-air. He faced the doorway, where a figure was silhouetted in darkness.

"What's going on!" He shouted.

"Hey man, chill. It's Allan." He said, turning on the flashlight and tilting it towards his face. Victor gave a sigh of relief, and walked over to him.

"You get a broom?" He asked. Allan nodded and gave him the red plastic broom. Victor took it, and brushed the glass to a pile away from the entrance.

"Okay. Did you see anything, Victor?" Allan asked as they walked in. He sighed, then responded with,

"No."

* * *

Kitten, Kori and Dick walked out from the room the papers had been found in.

"I guess there's nothing else there." Kori sighed as they closed the door behind them.

"Should we check out another classroom?" Kitten asked. Dick nodded, and walked to the next one over.

"Mr. Braysonn, Freshman English." Kori read on the sign next to the door.

"I had him." Robin said. "Good teacher. Made us do a lot of journalism reports though. I think that's what got me into reading the paper every morning, had to do it for school anyways." Dick said.

"Ooookay, fascinating. Let's go." Kitten said, rolling her eyes at what she considered to be a geeky comment, and walked inside. There were groups of desks, and a whiteboard with different names scrawled across it pointing to a number on the other side. There was a bin in the corner overflowing with papers, and boxes with newspapers on a shelf.

Kori laughed. "I guess he still likes the journalism part." She said. Dick grinned, saying,

"Yeah, he's been doing it since he started working here." He laughed, saying, "Gil and I had this class together. Braysonn's been working since the school opened, so we always joked that he came with it. He's got every newspaper since then though." He said, smiling at Kori. Kitten noticed this, and decided to act interested.

"Really? Could we see them?" She said in an overly excited voice, batting her long, black lashes at him.

"Uh…I guess so. They're over here." He said, leading to the stacks upon stacks of boxes. He opened a closet behind him, revealing walls and rows of boxes. He walked inside, and scanned the sprawled writing across them. He examined many boxes until he picked one up and walked out. He sat down at the nearest desk, taking off the lid and shuffling through the box. Kori and Kitten pulled up chairs next to him, and looked at the yellowing, old-fashioned papers. Dick pulled out one and read the main headline,

"Brooke elected mayor." The article went on to tell about how William Brooke beat out his competitor, Matthew Payher, by barely 2 of the vote.

He reached for the paper underneath it and read, " '$100,000 stolen from Michaels-James Bank.'" He looked down and started reading from the paragraphs.

" 'Last night there was a robbery from the prominent bank, Michaels-James Bank, founded by Henry Michaels and Peter James, now run by Michaels grandson Stephen Michaels, and James's great-granddaughter Kate Cooley. Exactly $100,000 was stolen from the bank, and police have no leads on who the culprit is. There was nothing left behind that may suggest anyone in particular, and it seems that the thief will go unnamed.'" Dick put down the paper.

He pulled out another one, and smiled at this one. "Check it out." He said. He straightened the paper and read, " 'Carlton High School opened.'"

"What about it?" Kori asked, wondering about the curious looks on Dick and Kitten's faces.

"The school used to be Carlton High School." Dick explained. "They changed it to Jump City High School in 1971."

"Oh." Kori replied. Dick continued reading the article.

" 'Carlton High School is finished! The construction was finished yesterday afternoon. There are many anxious students ready to begin school, and a wonderful faculty set up. Carlton High School will open with the rest of the county's schools on September 1st. After much building, the construction crew says they're proud of the work they've produced. Builder Mark Hanson says "This school is amazing. I look forward to sending my 9-year-old daughter and 5-year-old son here one day." Another one of the construction workers, Skeleton Key Wilson (called so for the key he possesses that opens every lock in the high school) says that he is proud of the work he and his fellow workers have made, and that the school is a safe, positive learning environment. Wilson was responsible for many parts of the construction, being noted as a hard worker and determined builder by his uppers and peers. The principal, Jacob Nelson, was unavailable for comment, but his wife assured us that he is very excited for the grand opening of Carlton High."

"Wow. Fascinating. I think I'm going to go look for clues." Kitten said, standing up and starting to look over desks.

"Okay. I'll put these away." Dick said, carefully placing the newspapers back into their box. He read the other headlines, a lot of them connecting to one another. Once the last one was put in, he put the box away and joined Kori and Kitten in searching for clues. Unfortunately, the three couldn't find much of anything in the room.

"Where should we look now?" Kori asked as they left that room as well.

"I'm not sure. I guess…let's just check out the next classroom." Dick sighed as the three walked through the next door.

* * *

Upstairs, Rob, Gar and Rae were taking one final walk-through of the library. They had just finished searching it, and there appeared to be nothing out of the ordinary. Just the same library they had all visited so many times through their time at the high school.

"Where do you think we should look next?" Gar asked as they stood by the door.

"Maybe out in the hallway." Rob said. "There always seems to be something out there." Gar and Rae nodded, and the three walked out the door and into the empty hallway.

The three walked in silence, looking side to side to try to see something. It was unusual, this silence. They could hear their footsteps ringing through their ears. That was the only thing accompanying their fear as they made their way to the end of the hallway.

There was a large window at the end wall, as there was on every floor. It was tall and wide, and the three had a view of the side of the school. The hills rolled down onto the field. The sky was still a rich shade of ebony, and leaves were being torn from trees in the violent wind. Rain blurred their ability to see through the window, but rolling deep blue and gray clouds could be seen slowly winding around the full moon, which was shining brightly.

"Okay. Where should we go next?" Rob asked, shivering slightly at the draft coming from the fairly old building.

"Dick said to stay on this floor. I guess we should just hang around here." Gar said with a shrug, heading back down the hallway. Rob and Rae followed him, looking right to left and peeking inside classrooms. Nothing jumped out at them as an obvious clue.

Once they had made their way back to the library, Rae opened her mouth to speak, but only got out a syllable. Gar put his finger to his lips, and interrupted, saying,

"Do you guys hear that?" He asked. Rae and Rob grew silent, and listened for whatever Gar was pointing out.

They were left alone in complete and still silence for five very, very long seconds, until…

"Whoa. What was that?" Rob asked. He and Rae had both heard what Gar had wanted them to. It was a light, ringing noise, a little bit high-pitched.

"I dunno." Gar said as the sound echoed throughout the hallways. There was so much resonance in the empty, wide and quiet hallways that the sound was almost completely distorted.

"There it is again." Gar said as the sound began echoing louder.

"It sounds so…familiar." Rae said as she tilted her head in concentration.

"Let's find out what it is." Rob said. Gar and Rae followed, listening intently to the noise. It grew louder and louder as they approached the middle of the hallway.

"It's coming from in there." Gar announced as they looked inside.

"The bathroom?" Rae asked, slightly confused and slightly curious.

"I know what it is." Rob said. The other two turned to face him. "It's a leaky faucet." All three grew quiet again, and listened to the sound. Once they heard it, they knew that's what it was. The echo had made it sound like something much larger than drips from a sink though.

"How did that happen though?" Rae asked. "When we were up here before we couldn't hear it."

"Yeah, it just started." Rob added.

"Someone must have just turned it on then." Gar said. Thunder boomed and lightning illuminated their faces as Rob and Rae turned to him.

"Someone's up here." Rae whispered.

"We need to check it out." Gar said, walking in. Rob stopped, waving his hand, saying,

"That's the guys' bathroom." He pointed his thumb towards Rae. "She can't go in there."

"Rob, are you kidding me?" Gar said exasperated. "First, no one's in there, and second, are you possibly serious? With everything you're worried about a girl in the guy's bathroom?" Gar said. Rob stood for a moment, but then followed Gar and Rae inside. The floor was tile, the same as in the girls' bathroom, and the layout was identical to the girl's one further down the hallway. Gar walked up to the leaky sink, watching clear beads appear at the faucet, then hit the sink, echoing through the bathroom and out into the hallway.

"Who turned it on?" Rae whispered.

"I dunno. Listen though." Gar said, turning the faucet. The dripping noise stopped, but was replaced by a slight howl. The three stopped, trying to figure out what it was or where it was coming from.

It was a wail, a whistle? The three weren't certain, but they knew it was out of place. They slowly walked further into the bathroom. They stopped at the end, which was just a wall with a hand dryer on it.

"Turn on the light, Rob." Gar's voice instructed. The three were barely visible.

"What? Seriously? Why don't we just turn around and-"

"Turn it on, Rob." Gar repeated. With a heavy and shaky sigh, Rob felt the wall for where he knew the light switch to be. He felt the knob sticking out of the wall, and, with trembling fingers, pushed it up.

"Oh my goodness…" Rae gasped. Gar took a step back, wide-eyed and jaw dropping. Rob's face lost color, and Gar fumbled through his pockets to get his cell phone. Hastily, he punched in Dick's number, and put it to his ear.

"How did this happen?" Rae whispered. "Who did this?"

"I don't know!" Gar said in a tense and quavering voice. He tapped his foot, impatiently waiting for Dick to answer his phone. Very quickly, his green eyes grew huge, and he threw the phone to the ground.

"What?" Rob asked. Shaking slightly, Gar stepped up and pushed a button on the side of his phone, turning on speakerphone. Rae let out a yelp as they heard what Gar was listening to.

Band music was playing over the phone. Breathing quickened, and then the jolly, mysterious voice sang out,

_I told you leave, I told you flee,  
__But no one would listen to me  
__So took another one out of the way  
__This just doesn't seem to be your day_.

The lights overhead flickered, illuminating the three's faces in dim, greenish light, eerily as if there was a strobe light. A quick panic erupted, the three trying to flee, but the lights turned off all completely, leaving them in an ebony curtain, where only their heavy panting signified they were still all there. They knew, however, someone was gone.

* * *

**Hey guys hope you were feeling that chapter man! Hope to hear lots from all you crazy chicks and cats! Read and review, can't wait to hear your thoughts my friends!  
Peace and rock on-  
Earth Blues Baby >**


	10. Chapter Ten, Part I

**Everyday Average Ordinary: Chapter Ten**

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_Hey man! Earth Blues Baby, back again. Hey, my computer couldn't handle putting the whole chapter onto one document, so I had to save it as two seperate ones, they go together though man. Enjoy the story and let me know what you think! Thanks man, hope you dig. _

_Peace and rock on

* * *

_

_The lights overhead flickered, illuminating the three's faces in dim, greenish light, eerily as if there was a strobe light. A quick panic erupted, the three trying to flee, but the lights turned off all completely, leaving them in an ebony curtain, where only their heavy panting signified they were still all there. They knew, however, someone was gone. _

"Dick?" Kori asked, a concerned look over her face. The boy standing next to her had his cell phone up to his ear, and a confused look to accompany it. Moments ago the phone had rung, and Dick answered it, only to lower his eyebrows and press his lips together.

"I don't know…." He said slowly. "Here, listen." He gave Kori the phone. On the other end, there was a buzzing sound, faint screams and panting, and a sharp whistle.

"What is this?" Kori asked.

"What number is it from?" Kitten asked, tilting her head. She could hear some of what was going on with the other end through the earpiece.

"Um…" Kori gave Dick the phone, who hung up and went to recent callers.

"555-0938…" He paused, trying to remember where he had seen that number before. "That's Gar." He said, eyes wide as he realized who it was.

"They must be in trouble!" Kori exclaimed. "We have to find them!" Dick nodded and ran out of the classroom they had been searching.

"Do you think they're still where you told them to stay?" Kitten asked, trying to keep up with the tennis shoe clad Dick. It was harder to run in her high heels.

"I hope so." Dick said, jumping up the stairs two at a time. Kori and Kitten were right behind him, the three racing up to the library floor. Once they got there, they stood still for a moment, listening over the panting of their breath.

A clanging, like the ones they heard earlier, rung loud, and Kori pointed down the hallway, saying,

"It came from down there." The three walked quickly down the hallway, looking left and right to try to find where Gar, Rae and Rob were. Dick stormed forward, but felt something pull him back. Kitten had grabbed his arm, and was pointing into the boys' bathroom.

"Listen." She told him. Coming from inside was muffled talking.

"Let's go." He said, trying to break free from Kitten's grip. Kori hesitated, saying,

"But what if it's not them?" Dick immediately knew what she was talking about. The voices Rae heard in the vent.

"What if it is though? We can't risk that." He said, then walked inside.

"Hello! Hey, are you guys in here?" Dick asked. There was a pause, and then he heard Rob's voice reply,

"Dick Grayson?"

"Yeah. Rob, c'mon out, Rae, Gar, you in there too?"

"Just come out." Kitten said, backing up. "It's so dark in there…" Rob emerged, followed by Gar and Rae. Gar had his arm around her shoulders, and they walked out to join Kitten, Kori and Dick outside the door.

"What happened?" Dick asked. "I got a call from your phone, Gar-"

"Yeah, I called you, but I heard one of those freaky songs instead." Gar said, eyes still larger than normal.

"What did it say?" Kori asked quietly.

"Someone else is gone." Rae said in a small voice. Gar squeezed her shoulder, and Kitten said,

"It's Vic or Allan. We're all here." The six stood silent, scared of what to do next.

"I can call them…" Rob said quietly, pulling his cell out of his pocket. He flipped it open, and slowly dialed in Vic's number.

There was one ring. Rob held his breath.

Silence.

A second ring. Kori let out a slight whimper.

Silence.

A third ring. Dick tensed up, anxious for whether or not the football captain would answer his phone.

Silence.

A fourth-

"Man, this Rob?" A heavy and breathy voice said into the phone.

"Yeah, Vic, you okay?" Rob asked, putting him on speakerphone so the others could listen too.

"No man! Oh my gosh, you have to get down here now, I can't-" Dick interrupted.

"Victor, calm down. We're all here. What's going on?" He asked. There was the sound of Vic taking a breath.

"Allan is gone. We were down here in the detention room, and he was just standing in front of the window! That's all he was doing! I stepped out of the room for twenty seconds man, _twenty seconds._ I get back and he's gone, but his flashlight is sitting where he used to be standing, and the batteries are scattered all across the room like he dropped it. Twenty seconds and he's gone! Twenty seconds!"

"Chill out Vic." Gar told him. "We'll be down there in a minute. Meet us in the janitor's office." He said.

"All right. Hurry though, I don't want to be alone here much longer." Vic told them.

"Okay. See you in a minute." Rob said before hanging up.

"Allan is gone." Kitten whimpered out. "We're all going to disappear."

"No we're not!" Dick said sternly. "We're getting out of here! C'mon, we told Victor we'd hurry." He said, turning and storming back down the stairs. The others followed, and soon all six were in the janitor's room. Vic was leaned up against the shelves, shaking slightly and lips moving rapidly as if he were speaking, but no sound coming out.

"Vic. Hey man, what's up?" Gar asked as he stood next to him. Dick, Kori and Kitten took a seat on the desk, and Rae and Rob leaned up against another shelf.

"He's gone. What are we gonna do?" Vic whined.

"Are you sure he just disappeared? You didn't see him walk out or anything?" Dick asked, trying to find some sort of logic.

"Yes, I'm sure he just disappeared! I would have seen him leave the room, he was standing right in the moonlight, his shadow would have headed out the door!" Vic exclaimed.

"Okay, calm down." Dick said.

"Calm down, are you kidding?" Vic exclaimed, arms bursting into the air. "You want me to calm down? There is somebody out there kidnapping us Grayson! Yeah, I'm gonna be really calm about all of this!" He cried.

"He's right Dick." Rob said. "We need help soon. Its ten now. Two hours left."

"Well, somebody has to come looking for us." Kitten said. "Doesn't anyone know we're here?" She asked.

Victor shook his head. "No. Football practice was today. My parent's probably think I'm staying the night at one of the boys houses." He sighed.

"Yeah, same here." Gar said. "I told my parents I was going to go look at bikes after school, then I might head out to my cousins house. I was trying to get away from them. So now they think I'm at Andrew's and Andrew doesn't even realize I'm gone." Gar sighed.

"I was babysitting overnight tonight." Kori said weakly. "I was going to watch the kids, the parents get back Sunday. They probably called a replacement babysitter because they think I forgot about it. So no, nobody knows I'm here." She said.

"Does anyone's parents or friends or anything realize that they're gone?" Rae asked.

No one said anything.

* * *

All right, part two is just a click away man! 


	11. Chapter Ten, Part II

**Every Day Average Ordinary: Chapter Ten **

* * *

_Hey there again! Here's Chapter Ten, Part Two!_

* * *

"Perfect."Rae said sarcastically. "We all get detention the one day a kidnapper is on the loose and nobody knows where we are. We're responsible, don't you think?"

"Hey, cut the attitude Rae!" Dick yelled. "We're not any happier than you are!"

"Hey!" Gar yelled, stepping in front of him. "Leave her alone! She can say that, it's the truth and you know it!"

"Please, stop arguing!" Kori said. "We can simply call someone and tell them to come pick us up." She said. The others grew quiet.

"Why didn't we think of that before?" Rob asked, with a laugh.

"I dunno." Vic said, wide smile across his face. "I guess fear does weird stuff to you. Can't think straight." Vic pulled out his phone. "I'm calling my dad. He'll be here in no time, we live ten minutes from the school." Cyborgs punched in the number, and then put it to his ear, grin across his face. The others waited eagerly. Dick smiled, glad to be finally done with all of this. His heart leapt when he saw the look on Vic's face fall though. He lowered the phone and turned it off.

"What's going on?" Kitten asked.

"We can't make calls." He said quietly.

"What?" Rae asked. "But we've been getting through fine to each other in here."

"That's because we're in here." Vic said. "The storm is too bad out there. Up a couple stories in the same building is about the best service we're going to get. Any outside calls aren't going to make it on a cell phone."

The room was engulfed in the ringing of thunder.

"What?" Kitten asked, even though she understood fully well what was going on.

"We're stuck in here until we can figure out how to get out." Vic sighed.

"We should continue looking if we still have the ability to phone each other." Kori said, hopping off the desk.

"Hey Gar." Dick said. "Why did you call me in the first place?"

Gar's eyes got wide, and then he said, "Guys, you have to follow me! Rae, Rob and I found something!" Without any further explanation, he spread his arms out to his side and grabbed Dick's wrist with one hand and Rae's with the other, and started tearing down the hallways. The group traveled up the stairs until they reached the floor Rob, Rae and Gar had searched earlier.

"C'mon, follow me." Gar said, walking back up to the boys' bathroom. He turned around before they went to the end, and turned towards Kitten, who was standing closest to the door.

"Hey, would you flip the switch?" He asked. She reached out and turned it up, and the room was lit up with the glow. The group walked slowly, and then Gar pointed up the wall.

"There. Look." Dick's gaze was brought upwards, where he saw what Gar had brought them there for. The window in the boys' bathroom was cracked open just barely. But that's not what was so interesting. The bottom of the window was chipped and broken, bits of the wood littering the ground. It looked jagged and rough, almost like giant jaws opening up to swallow the room.

"It looks like someone went at it with a saw." Vic said as he looked up. He was right, the window was in such horrible condition it really got your mind wondering how on earth it got that way.

"Try a pick axe." Kitten scoffed, backing up a step.

"Or a crowbar." Dick said. The others turned to look at him.

"What?" Kitten hissed out.

"That might be how someone got in. They took a crowbar and lifted the window up. Look, you can tell it's been open for a while because the windowsill is drenched. If it were just opened when you guys were searching it would only be damp. Look, there's a stream coming down the wall and making a puddle all over the place." Dick said, trailing a river of water winding down the wall and causing a shallow puddle.

"Oh yeah, I slipped in that earlier." Gar said, rubbing the back of his head. "It really hurt. I hit the pipe." He pointed to the metal pipe going down the corner of the room.

Rae's eyes lit up as she looked at Gar to the pipe. The others noticed, and watched to see what might be going on. Rae walked over to Gar, who smiled slightly. She smiled back, and then shoved his chest hard. He fell backwards, crashing into the pipe. A loud, hollow, and strident banging came through.

Rob started laughing hysterically, while Dick's eyes lit up and Gar said in a hurt voice,

"Rae…why did you do that?"

"No. Listen. Gar, get up again." Dick said, walking over. The boy obeyed, standing back up. As soon as he got back on his feet, Dick shoved his shoulders, and he went soaring back into the pipe, the same noise coming again. Rob laughed even harder, tears streaming down his face and doubling over.

"Wait…" He gasped. "Wait, I wanna do it too." He said, walking over.

"Knock it off Rob." Dick said as he offered his hand for Gar to take. "Didn't you just recognize that sound?"

"No." He said. Kori's eyes lit up, however.

"It's the banging sound we've been hearing!" She exclaimed. Kitten, Vic and Rob all had bright eyes as they realized it was true.

"Hit it again!" Kitten said. Gar winced, then said,

"NO! Please, I mean, c'mon. Let's take it easy, we've established that's the noise…" He pleaded.

"So the banging noise is something hitting the pipes…" Dick said, scrutinizing the metal pole as if it would scream out all the answers he needed.

"Well…okay. And how does that help us?" Rob said bitterly.

"Well, we know what it is, for starters." Dick replied in a similar tone. "That's more than we've figured out all night. We're one step closer to getting our missing friends. Is that enough for you, Rob?" Startled by Dick's sudden tone, Rob didn't reply.

"Now listen." Dick said, addressing the entire group. "We've got a lot to go on right now, and I don't want to lose it. So, Rob, Rae and Gar, you three look around together, and Kori, Kitten, Vic and I will look together as well. I'd advise you not to split up either." Dick said grimly. "It's probably not a good idea." Gar nodded, and the group walked out from the bathroom. Dick, Kori, Kitten and Vic turned to the left, and Gar, Rae and Rob turned right.

"So what on earth was Grayson talking about?" Rob snorted as he, Gar and Rae headed downstairs.

"He wants us to look for clues." Gar responded, rubbing the knot in his shoulder from being shoved into the thick metal pipe. He could feel a bruise on his neck and a slight bump on his head as well.

"You okay?" Rae asked as she noticed him.

"Yeah. I will be. Warn me before you do that again though, okay?" He said with a slight laugh in his voice.

"Anyways, what kind of clues are we looking for?" Rob asked as they went down another flight of stairs.

"Anything that doesn't belong, Rob. You can figure that out, can't you?" Rae said. Rob smiled cockily, saying,

"Totally, baby." Rae rolled her eyes as the three arrived on the bottom level.

"Wanna start in the classrooms?" Gar asked.

"Sure. Mrs. Clark has a pipe in the back of her room. We should go in there and see if the banging is coming from there." Rae suggested.

"You sure you want to find out what's causing all of it?" Rob asked. Rae stopped for a minute, then swallowed a lump in her throat.

"Yeah. Lets go." The three slowly approached the door. Gar reached out and gripped the handle tightly, then slowly pushed it forward. All three looked with anticipating eyes. The door opened, revealing a striped room. The far left and far right were pitch black, but coming through the middle was a beam of moonlight, illuminating groups of desks and a long table with sinks on it.

"Should we go in?" Rob whispered. Gar nodded his head, and reached inside to turn on the light. The blackness was replaced with a white-ish light and the buzz of the light bulbs. The three slowly walked in, and to the corner where the pipe is.

"There's nothing here." Rob said.

"I hear something." Rae announced.

"Rae, there is absolutely nothing here but you, me, and Gar." Rob told her. Rae clapped her hand over his mouth and gave the instructions,

"Just listen." The two grew silent, and then their eyes grew wide.

"I hear it." Rob whispered. It was a slight squeaking noise, faraway, but still audible.

"What is that?" Gar whispered, tiptoeing up to the door, pressing his ear on it and listening to the faint noise.

"It sounds kind of like what it sounds like when you're shoes are all wet and you walk on a tile floor." Rob said.

Rae got wider eyes. "Maybe that's the person! We should go look!" Rae started out the door, but Gar took her wrist, saying,

"Wait till we can hear them going up the stairs. That way they won't see us." He said.

"But we might lose them! And besides, it's too dark for them to see anything anyways!" Rae pleaded, pulling her wrist out of his grasp.

Rob came up, opening the door and walking out. "She has a point. Come on, let's go. This is our chance."

* * *

Upstairs, Kitten, Dick and Kori were walking down the hallway.

"Do you hear anything?" Kori whispered, looking nervously from side to side. She kept on imagining the kidnapper roaming through the hallways. It was almost scarier now knowing that there _was _someone locked in here with them.

"How on earth are we supposed to hear anything over this storm?" Kitten shot bitterly.

"Well we've heard things before." Kori said, trying not to get too agitated with the girl.

"The storm is only getting worse. I can't believe that we can't make phone calls. Like, what is the point of even having a cell phone if you can't talk on it? What am I supposed to do?" She asked.

"Calm down." Dick said. "First off, please don't start arguing. That's not what we need right now. And I just got an idea." He said, stopping and turning towards the other end of the hallway.

"Yes?" Kori inquired.

"Our cell phones don't work because of the storm, right? They're not as powerful as a main line." Dick said.

Kori smiled, saying, "Dick! You're a genius!" She started off as quick as he was, both of them heading somewhere they had in mind. Confused, Kitten asked,

"Where are you guys going?"

"Principal's office." Kori replied simply. The three came inside, picking up the phone. Dick grinned, saying,

"I have a dial tone." He reached for one of the buttons, but was interrupted by flickering lights.

"Please don't do that." He asked anxiously.

"It's not us." Kitten whispered back. Dick looked up, and heard the all-too-familiar noise that was going to haunt his dreams.

Band music.

But it wasn't over the intercom.

* * *

_There is the conclusion of chapter ten! Review please man! I love hearing your guys's thoughts, and I haven't updated for a while, sorry for that! Let the reviews roll in man!_

_Peace and rock on-_

_Earth Blues Baby_


	12. Chapter Eleven

**Everyday Average Ordinary: Chapter Eleven**

**A/N: Sorry it's taken me so long to update! Some major things have come up and I haven't had time to write. But I hope this chapter makes up for all of that. Please drop a review my friends, I can't wait to hear from you all again. Have a great time reading this and I hope you dig it! Thanks!**

**Peace and rock on:**

**Earth Blues Baby**

* * *

**Chapter Eleven**

"_I have a dial tone." He reached for one of the buttons, but was interrupted by flickering lights. _

_"Please don't do that." He asked anxiously. _

_"It's not us." Kitten whispered back. Dick looked up, and heard the all-too-familiar noise that was going to haunt his dreams. _

_Band music. _

_But it wasn't over the intercom._

Kori let out a yelp of surprise. She took a step backwards from the door, closing her eyes tight as the notes came out clear and crisp.

"Dick!" Kitten cried out in a wavering voice. The boy immediately slammed the phone down back into the cradle and stormed over to the door. He stopped right in front of it, closing his eyes and swallowing hard as the notes were covered up with the cheerful male voice that had accompanied all the previous serenades.

"_Time flies by as the moon shines bright_

_Better not let anyone out of your sight_

_I think its time for another one_

_Your whole night is just coming undone."_

Dick swallowed his fear and yanked the doorknob, revealing a cool blast of air. A sliver of moonlight streamed in through the crack in the door, illuminating the dust floating gently through the air. Dick pulled it open farther, revealing moonlight that spilled into the room, illuminating the two girls standing behind him. He stepped forward, walking out into the hallway. The large, glass window at the end bathed the entire hallway, easily pointing out a small black square sitting on the ground. A slightly grainy noise was looping through the air.

Dick tilted his head to the side, but walked towards the box. He leaned over it, and found that it was a tape recorder. The tape was still spinning, but the rest was blank. He leaned down and clicked the stop button, and then popped the tape out.

"What is it?" Kitten asked, shadow long and narrow in the milky moon's beam. Dick turned the tape over several times, before murmuring,

"It's a recording of the band and singer giving us these songs." He put the tape in his pocket, then stood up again.

"Does that mean that no one is really in here?" Vic asked. "I mean, it could be someone who left stuff to mess with us then…couldn't it?"

"I dunno…I'm not really sure at this point about much." Dick said in a low voice. "But if someone weren't here, then it sure would be hard to put everything together at the perfect time, don't you think?"

"Yeah…" Vic said softly. "Hey, you guys hold up here a minute, I'm going down this hallway to see if I can find someone. They may have left it on the ground." Vic said, holding his head high and heading off in the other directioin.

"Victor!" Kitten said in a shaking voice. "You can't go alone!"

"I'll be fine." He said in such a tone that assured the others of this. He gave Dick firm nod of the head, and took off down the hallway before anyone else had a chance to object.

"Is he going to be okay?" Kitten asked, watching as the football player disappeared as he rounded a corner.

"Vic can look out for himself all right. He's going to be okay, he'll be back in a few minutes. I'm going to try the phone now. We'll tell the others about this when we meet them downstairs." Dick and Kitten walked back into the office, where Kori was still staring blankly at the wall.

"Kori?" Dick asked, concerned, as he took her hand gently. "Kori, are you all right?" Her green eyes flickered to him, and she whispered in a scratchy voice,

"Didn't you hear the tape?" Dick raked his memory as best he could, but he couldn't recite the song.

"He said that its time for another one. Oh, Dick, someone else is going to disappear!"

* * *

"Rae, be careful." Gar said, looking deeply into her eyes. Those same eyes that had drawn him to her the moment he had seen her. They were still as alluring, as capturing as when he has first been locked under their spell.

"Gar, I'm going to be fine. You're with me, remember?" She gave him a slight grin, then took his hand in her own.

"Hey, guys, are we heading out?" Rob whispered, slight agitation obvious in his voice. Rae ducked around the door, and quietly crept down the hallway. Rob and Gar followed on their tiptoes, heading as fast as they could without making a sound.

The three darted across the tile floor. Rae was holding her breath, trying to be as nimble as possible. The stairs were mere feet in front of them. She gently brought her hand up to signal to the boys to stop, and then peered around the stairs to make sure whoever was ahead of them was all the way up. She saw a dark silhouette round up the last couple stairs.

Crouching down, the three started up the staircase, taking extra measure not to click their shoes on the metal. Gar gently brought his hand up the railing, using it as balance as he carefully arched his feet and leapt from stair to stair, as if each one burned his feet.

The three paused for a moment at the top. They saw the silhouette going down the hallway, past the classrooms and turning another corner into another hallway.

"Hurry." Rob said in a voice that was barely audible to himself. He started off, and was a few paces ahead of Rae and Gar, having longer legs and being faster to begin with. He approached the hallway, and saw the ebony shape disappearing into the shadows.

"Faster!" He urged, once again, in the softest whisper any had ever heard. They put forth extra effort to make it silently through the hallway. It was so much harder than they would have imagined. It was an uneasy feeling, to be in hallways which were normally so filled with life and noise. And now they were trying to disappear from both of these.

The figure paused at some lockers, and peered outside the large window to the right of them. Rob, Gar and Rae all halted abruptly and held their breath, hoping that the figure wouldn't turn around and spot them. They were standing in the shadows, true, but they could still see the figure when it was in the same situation.

Luckily, the dark silhouette only paused for a short moment, and then took another right down another hallway. The three were growing tired. Gar could feel a burn in the back of his calf from the strain he was putting on it by running on tiptoes. Rae realized she hadn't been breathing since she was downstairs, and felt the urge to pant heavily. Rob was getting tired of running in this manner, he was trained to do it in such a different way that habit kept on trying to kick in.

The three continued though, knowing that this might be their only chance. But to what? No one could put their finger on it. But it had to be something. Anything had to be more than what they had now.

The silhouette was out of view, and well down the hallway. Trying to catch up, Rob took longer strides. He was approaching the lockers. He would be able to see the figure in just a moment. He couldn't lose him…he took an even longer stride…too long. He kicked his foot against the base of a locker.

The noise was the loudest any of them had heard. The tinny echoing seemed to deafen them, bouncing in every part of the hallway. It stung and bit and grasped the air itself. Gar and Rae halted, wide-eyed and open-jawed. Their attention turned towards the mysterious silhouette in front of them.

It turned and faced the three with empty, unseen eyes.

* * *

"We have to find them!" Kitten squealed, bringing her hands to her mouth. "What if one of us disappears though?" She said in a different tone, now bringing her hands into her hair. Her blue eyes widened at this thought and her knees began to shake slightly.

"We have to use the phone!" Dick said firmly. "I don't know how much longer it will be serviceable. The storm is only going to get worse." He said, taking long, confident strides into the office. He approached the desk with vigor and a stern demeanor, reaching with a stiff arm towards the phone, and brought it up to his ear. He was surprised by its willingness to come to him.

Looking down, Dick saw something that caused him to let out a slight gasp.

The phone cord had been neatly snipped.

"How did this happen?" He let out in a frustrated voice. He threw the phone down on the desk, then let out a heavy breath.

"But it was connected two minutes ago!" Kori exclaimed, more bewildered than frustrated by this predicament.

"Then somebody must be in here with us!" Kitten squealed, squirming away from the door and towards Kori. She looked around the dark shadows of the room with wide, fearful eyes.

"There's no way that could have happened!" Dick said, leaning down with his hands spread out on the table and shoulders hunched over. "We were standing _right there._ There is no way anyone could have gotten past us!"

He banged his fist on the table, startling both the girls. The jumped slightly.

"We couldn't have missed it! I would have SEEN something!" He exclaimed, emphasizing every syllable with a hard tone.

"Something is going to happen to one of our friends." Kori said. "We need to focus on that. Can we call Gar or Rae or Rob?" She asked.

"Yeah. Yeah, we should." Dick said, calming down slightly. He drew out his cell phone, and begun to dial in Gar's number. He brought it up to his ear, waiting with more patience than he had previously. Kori and Kitten waited anxiously for the conversation to begin.

"Ugh!" Dick spat out, slamming the phone back down and shoving it in his pocket. He looked at it with disgust.

"What happened? Did he not pick up?" Kitten inquired in a soft voice.

"The call won't even go through. The storm has gotten too bad. We can't get through to each other anymore." He folded his arms across his chest and sighed. He told himself that he needed to calm down, that he wasn't going to be any good or any help if he was frustrated and uptight. He needed to calm down, to focus on what needed to be done.

"We should go down and look for them. We have to. Come on girls." He said, stepping briskly to the door.

"What about Vic?" Kori asked, wringing her hands together anxiously.

"He'll either know to meet us downstairs or he'll stay here. He's a smart, tough guy, he won't do anything stupid." Dick said, opening the door in a swift motion, then taking a few steps out. Kori and Kitten followed, turning around and taking one last glance to the phone on the desk. The phone sat still, cord snipped and glowing in the smooth, milky moonlight.

* * *

Rae blinked her eyes, holding her breath once more. Her lungs were burning at this point. There was a thick moment of silence and stillness that hung in the air for what seemed like an eternity. In less than a moment, however, the figure turned and darted off through the hallways.

"Go!" Gar yelled, taking off as fast as he could. Rae and Rob followed, not wanting to let this opportunity literally escape. Rae's heart was pounding in her chest, she hadn't been getting enough air before, and now she was feeling a tight pain in her chest from sprinting now. She took in a sharp breath, and saw herself falling slightly behind Gar. Rob, being a star track runner, was easily ahead, pushing himself to catch up with the figure.

The silhouette's footsteps pounded through the hallway, breaking what had been complete silence less than a minute ago. Heavy breathing could be heard escaping the figure's lips. It continued on, staying ahead, but Rob was catching up quick.

Rae took in another deep breath. She just wanted to breathe again. She just wanted to feel smooth air in her lungs. No, she needed that. She couldn't keep going like this…She was lagging behind again. Gar was several yards ahead of her now…

Rob forced himself to go faster. The sooner he caught up, the sooner they were out of here, the sooner he was the hero. That was right…the hero…Rob went even faster at this thought. He could feel his muscles warming up and blood going through his body. Faster…faster…wind rushed into his ears.

The silhouette slid across the tile, racing down the stairs. Rob followed, frustrated that he was slowing down. His knees stung at the impact from his speed. They didn't dull as he went on, only intensified, only causing him to slow more. By the time the two reached the bottom, he had given the figure quite a lead.

Rae flew down the stairs as best she could. Gar and Rob seemed so far ahead now…she wanted them to catch the figure, she wanted to stay and catch her breath, she guessed she had gone four minutes now without it. The thick, dazed feeling of being underwater too long consumed her. She couldn't even see the figure anymore…she could hardly see the hair whipping the sides of her face…her body was begging her to breathe, but her mind kept telling her to speed up, catch up…but her body wouldn't listen to this logic.

Rob had almost reached the figure. It was starting to form into what looked like more of a human. Obviously male, with broad shoulders, about six foot two, six foot three…Rob could take him when he caught up with him…He almost had him…

Gar and Rob both immediately halted. The noise they had just heard was painful just to hear. They turned around, and saw Rae, screaming something awful. It appeared as if she was being dragged down the hallway.

"Rae!" Gar screamed, his voice loud and hoarse. The two boys turned and darted after her. She had disappeared down a dark hallway, her screaming leading them down it.

The two arrived at the end, looking around. A heavy silence bit at their ears. They turned, trying to find Rae.

"Where did she go?" Gar demanded in a threatening voice.

"I don't know!" Rob said. "Why can't we see her? This place is bright as day in all the moonlight!"

"Rae!" Gar called, running from one end to another in frantic paces. Both were dead ends, with lockers at the ends and nowhere to go. "Rae!" He called out again, voice cracking. He let out a moan, and then dropped to his knees, holding his head in his hands.

"Rae…." He whispered, shaking his head. His shoulders were wobbling and his elbows quaking.

Rob sprinted to the end of the hallway. The figure was gone, out of sight. He could be anywhere by now.

"Rob!" He turned to see Dick, Kori and Kitten thundering down the steps. "Rob, get Gar and Rae, something is going to happen!" Dick yelled.

"They're going to take someone else!" Kitten exclaimed in a frightened voice.

"Its too late." Rob said in a low voice. "Rae's gone."

* * *

**A/N: Hey there! Drop a review please, I really am hoping to hear from you! Thanks! Peace and rock on- Earth Blues Baby**


	13. Chapter Twelve

**A/N: Hey all you cats and chicks! Earth Blues Baby, back again! I just wanted to apologize for the fact that my update took a month. I really meant to get it in wayyyyy sooner and start back on a normal update track since there was a big gap in the middle of my updating patterns, but unfortunately I've been ill and school's been crazy as ever. But life is still good, as each day has hope! So I give to you know, without further ado, Chapter Twelve in hopes you can dig it:D**

* * *

**Everyday Average Ordinary: **Chapter Twelve 

Earth Blues Baby

_"Rob!" He turned to see Dick, Kori and Kitten thundering down the steps. "Rob, get Gar and Rae, something is going to happen!" Dick yelled._

_"They're going to take someone else!" Kitten exclaimed in a frightened voice._

_"Its too late." Rob said in a low voice. "Rae's gone."_

Kori's eyes widened in shock. Kitten let out a slight gasp, and Dick halted in his tracks.

"What do you mean she's gone?" Kitten snapped out, eyes attempting to pierce through him. Rob felt a tight heat go through his chest, and he snarled out,

"Exactly what I said! Rae's gone, disappeared! Just like the others." His eyes seared the ground.

"And Gar? Where is he?" Dick asked, not seeing the other boy in sight. Rob threw his thumb over his shoulder and responded in a dull, bitter voice,

"He's back there."

"We should join him. No one should be alone." Kori said. The group of four immediately started walking down the hallway.

"And what about Vic?" Kitten spat. "He's alone, isn't he? I knew that was a bad idea!"

"Where is he?" Rob asked.

"He went out searching on his own." Dick stated shortly. The four arrived then at the end of the hallway. Gar was still collapsed on his knees, shoulders slumped over and staring out the window at the storm outside.

"Gar?" Kori asked carefully. "Are you all right?" Her voice was soft, especially against the storm outside.

"It's my fault." Gar's voice was hoarse and scratchy, as if he had lost his voice for a long time, and these were the first words he spoke after recovering it. "It's my fault that Rae disappeared." His eyes glistened, and he blinked several times, still staring at the rain through glazed-over eyes.

"No, it's not your fault." Kori replied.

"What happened?" Kitten asked bluntly. Gar's eyes closed, and he swallowed hard.

"We were chasing someone." Rob cut in hastily. "We saw this guy, and he…erm…heard…us, and started running. So we chased him. I almost had him, and then we heard Rae scream, and she got dragged down this hallway, and just…disappeared." Rob recounted the events that had taken place mere moments ago, but felt like days.

"How?" Kitten asked in a disbelieving voice. "This place has so much moonlight it's impossible _not_ to see anyone."

"Yeah, I noticed that too." Rob shot out. "But she did, all right? We checked around. She's gone." Rob's eyes burned against Kitten's.

"Are you sure you weren't chasing Victor?" Dick asked.

"No." Rob said surely. "The guy we were chasing was too short. Wasn't near muscular enough either. He was somebody else."

"Ohhh…" Kori moaned. "What are we going to do now?"

"Find safety." Dick replied.

"HA!" Rob yelled, an awkward smile on his face. "Grayson, do you really think we have that anymore? Safety?" There was an odd look on his face.

"What I do know, Rob, is that so far the janitor's office has done a good job in keeping us out of trouble. So, yeah, we're going to keep counting on it." He looked hardly at Rob, a stern look on his face.

"Let's go then." Kori said, hoping to avoid an argument. As she spun around, she let out a scared gasp.

"Look!" She whispered, pointing ahead. At the end of the hallway there was a silhouette, quickly advancing towards them.

"Isithimwhatdowedo?" Kitten's voice was high-pitched and rushed, her blue eyes staring scared down the hallway.

"Guys!" A voice called. The silhouette waved. They sighed with relief. The voice belonged to Victor. He jogged up, and said,

"Hey guys, you left the office, and I- whoa. Umm…where's Rae?" He asked, looking around the group. Gar looked down once again. The tape recording and the situation then clicked in the football captain's head.

"Oh." Victor said quietly. "Hey man, I'm sorry. You all right?" Gar responded in no way.

"We've got to get going." Dick said. "Come on, let's head to the janitor's office." Kori nodded firmly, and they turned around, heading in the right direction.

Once arrived, the group situated themselves around the room. Once so, Rob locked the door, then turned to lean against it.

"So…" Rob started. "You said you heard another song?"

"Yeah. Found it, actually." Victor replied. Rob gave him a curious look.

"It was a tape in a tape player outside the door. It…said someone else was going to disappear." Kitten said, glancing at Gar out of the corner of his eye. He was in the corner, leaning against the shelf. His hands were gripping his arms, and his eyes were large and wet and empty. He looked like a little kid lost from their parents. Every once and a while his lip would quiver.

"Do you still have it?" He croaked out.

"Yeah, actually…I grabbed it." Dick announced.

"Did it say anything else?" Gar inquired.

"No, we just heard the song." He said.

"Okay. And was there anything else on it?" Gar repeated.

"I don't know. I'll check." Dick said. He took the tape out of his pocket, and pressed the play button. He fast-fowarded through the song, and then continued to do so afterwards. The tape looped and looped, and the others listened, curiously but bored. Just as Dick was about to give up on it, a scratchy, fuzzy noise came from the tape player.

"What was that?" Kori asked. Dick rewound the tape slightly, and then played it at normal speed. The others listened intently, hoping to hear what it might be.

"Blewpwa." A scratchy voice announced, distorted by what sounded like a plastic bag crinkling.

"What was that?" Dick played it back a few times, until Gar announced,

"Blueprints." The others looked at him. "The voice is saying 'blueprints.'" Dick played it back once more, and they listened intently.

"Blueprints." Gar had been right. The word was distorted and hard to distinguish, but once they heard it they knew that was correct.

"What does it mean?" Kitten asked.

"The blueprints upstairs!" Kori exclaimed. "In the case! Perhaps those are the blueprints?" She suggested.

"Maybe. We should check it out." Dick said. He knew what Kori was talking about; the school blueprints were on display upstairs. Kitten and Kori nodded in agreement.

"Is there anything you guys can recall that struck you as suspicious?" Dick asked, turning to Victor, Rob and Gar.

Victor started, "Nothing's really sticking out-"

"The wall." Rob interrupted.

"Huh?" Kitten asked, tilting her head to the side.

"There was a wall upstairs, in the library. Gar, Rae and I found it earlier tonight. It sounds hollow, real out of place." He explained.

"All right." Dick replied. "I'm not sure what it might mean, but…you should still check it out."

"What time is it now?" Kori asked. Dick gulped, hoping not to see something too bad. He looked at his watch, and then announced the time to the group.

"Ten thirty." Kori nodded gravely.

"We should head out." Victor said coolly. The six silently filed out the door. They headed down separate parts of the hallway, and to the areas they were going to search.

* * *

"In here, huh?" Victor said, as he pushed open the library door. Rob nodded, and took the lead.

"It was in the back corner, over here." Rob said. The three quietly made their way past the magazine stand, tables, and several aisles of bookshelves. Finally, they arrived at the one Rob had heard the hollow spot at.

"It's right here. Just have to…" Rob cleared away a row of books, putting them on a cart across the aisle. He got down to his knees, and rapped the wood with his knuckles. A hollow sound came back at him.

"Whoa," Vic said, brow dropping in confusion and curiosity. "Tap it again." Rob nodded and did this, the hollow noise coming once again.

"Why is it there?" Victor asked, tilting his head slightly.

"I don't know." Rob said flatly.

"Well why would there be a hollow spot in the wall?" Victor tried again, referring to the fact that the bookshelf was pressed against the white wall of the library.

"I don't know!" Rob spat back, standing up now.

"Okay, chill man-" Vic started, voice urging him to calm down.

"Yeah, chill! You're just coming after me with-"

"I am not on your case man!"

"Well then would you shut up?"

"I was asking a _question_! I have the right to do that!"

"Well then don't demand the answer from me!"

"I was not-"

"Hey guys." Gar interrupted them. The two turned towards him, frustration visible in both their faces. Gar didn't have much emotion on his face; he had turned to a rather blank expression, the only outstanding thing being his wide, glassy eyes. "Do you think that maybe the noise is coming from the other side of the wall?" He blinked, expression not changing. Rob and Victor both stopped, and then turned to look at each other.

"It's worth checking out." Vic muttered, and then walked around to the other side of the wall. Rob and Gar followed.

"Bottom shelf." Rob muttered. Victor kneeled down this time, clearing off the books from the bottom shelf. He reached into the cabinet, knocking his fist against the wood. The sound that came out was a very prominent, echoing hollow sound, much more intense than it had been on the other side.

"There's something behind it." Gar announced.

"Let's move the shelf and find out what." Victor said, standing up. "Gar and I will push from this side, you pull from that side, Rob." The football captain instructed. He and the green-haired boy moved to one end, while Rob gripped the bookshelf from the other side.

"Ready?" Vic said. "On three. One, two, three!" The boys heaved and tugged, surprised at how much the bookshelf actually weighed. After a few more heaves, they managed to push the shelf far enough from the wall to see the spot that was hollow.

"Let's take a look here," Victor mumbled to himself as he walked around again. He sat down in front of the wall, and began inspecting it. The wall was bright white, much more so than the other walls in the library, having been protected from years of dust and dirt. There was nothing that appeared out of pace, however. After more careful scrutinizing, he couldn't find anything that could explain where the hollow noise had come from.

"What's wrong with it then?" Rob asked, frustration biting at his words once more.

"Let me see." Gar stated. Without a word, Victor stood up, letting Gar kneel down in front of the wall. He ran his fingers over the smooth wall, and leaned in to look at it with his jungle green eyes. After a few minutes of examination, Gar leaned back, saying,

"Look. Right here." He ran his index finger in a rectangle along the wall. Rob and Victor looked carefully, and then noticed what he was pointing out. There was a thin line in the shape of a rectangle running along the wall. It was just a few shades darker than the wall, and was extremely tight fitting.

"Can you open it?" Rob asked, curiosity rising rapidly. Gar fingered around with it, but then announced,

"It's too snug. I can't get it."

"Wait a second!" Victor exclaimed. He darted off, heading over to the checkout desk. He scanned the counter quickly, and then reached into a jar containing writing utensils. He jogged back to where the other two were, and revealed four pens.

"Here." He gave Gar two of them. "Put the tips at the top." Gar understood the plan, and the boys put the tips of the top of the rectangle. They positioned the angle, and then made a slight scooping motion, lifting the rectangle from the wall. It flipped forward slightly, and Gar grabbed onto it, pulling it forward and revealing what was inside…

* * *

"It's just down here." Dick announced. He and the two girls were heading down the hallway, going back towards the principal's office. The corridor was cold and still, as if it were hiding from the storm. The sound of Kitten's heels clicking against the tile echoed against the empty spaces, and accompanied the three on their journey.

"Right here." Dick stated. They had come to look at the glass compartment, which was right next to a trophy case, boasting cups, ribbons, and plaques from different events. Next to it, the glass case had inside of it the original blueprints from the opening of Jump City High School. The paper was beginning to look slightly older, and the ink was thick and dark.

"Look," Kori said with a slight smile on her face. She ran her finger over a square on the paper, reading "CUSTODIAL OFFICE." It was directly below a few classrooms, and then a nook in the library on the top floor.

"What's that?" Kitten asked, squinting her eyes. "It looks familiar." Dick and Kori looked at what she was pointing at. It was a loopy, hard to read signature in the corner.

"The signature of the architect." Dick responded.

"No, but it looks really familiar." She said back to him. They studied it for another moment, until Kori announced,

"Skel…Skeleton Key Wilson! The name from the newspapers!" The others realized this immediately.

"We should go back to Braysonn's room. There might be a clue in there." Dick turned and headed quickly to the staircase.

"Wait…" Kitten said. "Why would we be getting clues?"

"This is a mystery, isn't it?" Dick asked. "Every good mystery has clues." Without saying another word, he led the girls back to his Freshman English class.

"All right." Kori sighed. "Should we start looking again?" Dick nodded, and opened the door for the girls. The three filed inside, and Dick walked into the closet, quickly finding the box he had gotten the original newspapers out of.

"The date from the article we read was July 27th. Let's look at articles from around then." He pulled some papers out, checking the dates, and gave one to each of the girls.

The three read in quiet. They didn't have to make a sound though; the storm outside was plenty loud. Thunder boomed, accompanied by elegant lightning, shattering the swirling ebony sky in half. With each turn of the page of the crinkled and old papers, the wind howled against the building, beating against the windows. The trees outside, which just that morning had been decorated with vibrantly colored leaves, showing the fall season in full bloom, were now bare and dry, all the leaves whipped by the wind and leaving the trees empty.

"Whoa. You guys, this is really creepy." Kitten said, disrupting the silence between the three.

"What is it?" Dick asked.

"An article from August 4th. It's really creepy. The headline is "Untimely Death." She repeated.

"Read it please." Dick requested. Kitten nodded, and began.

" 'An untimely death has struck Jump City. Yesterday morning, the body of 25-year-old construction worker Avery Moscahan was discovered. Moscahan was found at the Carlton High School work site, where he was working. He is employed by Jump City Construction Company. Coworkers who were coming onto the site to put the finishing touches on the school found the body. Today was the last scheduled day for construction on the school. It was determined that Moscahan died of heart failure. A close friend of his reported that heart trouble was common in his family. Moscahan, a Jump City native, had been at the school that night outside his scheduled shift. Investigators are not planning on looking into the death, as the cause of death was natural. His friends reported that the loss is tragic, and he was a hard worker, genuine fellow, and humorous companion to everyone around him.' "

"That's scary…someone passed here." Kori whispered. There was a moment of uneasy silence.

"We should keep on looking." Dick said, shaking his newspaper unnecessarily loud to signal they continue reading. The careful research continued for minutes more. They scanned the articles, searching for anything that might reveal itself useful. The storm filled their empty silence.

"Didn't you say there was a bank robbery in the paper you read, Dick?" Kori asked. He nodded his head.

"Listen to this. It's rather interesting." Kori announced, and then began reading.

" 'An outbreak of robberies has struck Jump City, and the surrounding area. Three weeks ago, the Jump City bank Edward-James Bank was robbed. Police were unable to find any leads, and the case is still being investigated. However, three days ago it was reported that another Jump City bank, Neighborhood Bank, had savings stolen as well. The same night, a nearby bank 40 miles north reported a robbery as well. Four other banks, all within 50 miles of Jump City, have been stuck as well in the following two days. Police are collaborating together to try to find the culprit. So far, they have no leads. Chief of the Jump City Police Department, Thomas Henton, comments: "This is extremely uncommon. That this sort of thing goes without solving quickly. We are assuming that the culprit, or culprits, is the same in all of the robberies. It doesn't happen like this, that the scene of the crime can be left so smooth. We're working very hard and hope to have a suspect soon." Bank representatives were unavailable for comment, and will not release the exact amount of money stolen, but police have released that the sum total is over three million dollars.' "

"Wow." Dick stated. "That's…" He searched for a word, but was unable to come up with one. Kori nodded shallowly in response.

"Should we keep on looking?" Kitten asked.

"Yeah…we should."

* * *

Victor and Rob leaned forward, inching to look and see what lied behind the sheet Gar had just removed.

Blackness looked back.

"Back up you guys." Gar muttered. Victor and Rob followed the instructions given to them. The two took a step backwards and tilted their heads slightly out of the way. Rob, who was standing in front of the window, let in a stream of silky moonlight with his move. It illuminated the cavity, revealing what lie inside.

There was a rod, about a quarter of the height of the cavity. It curved in towards the back of the cabinet, and had a metal square atop it.

"What is it?" Victor asked, squinting as he examined the object.

"It looks like a lever." Rob replied.

"Try moving it." Vic finished. Gar reached forward, gripping the cube in his palm. Slowly, he drew it towards him. A jerking noise came out right away. Gar stopped for a minute, surprised at this. A clinking noise had sounded out from the moment he moved it. After a brief pause, he took it in his hand again, drawing it towards him once more. Shifting, clanking, clicks, and churns were heard from somewhere below the lever as it moved forward. Gar brought it all the way forward, and the noises lasted a few more seconds, and then paused.

"Do you see what it may have done?" Gar asked, turning around. Rob looked around for a moment, but nothing was out of place.

"We should-" Vic started, but paused as he heard something. His eyes widened, and Gar and Rob silenced to listen. They heard what it was. Footsteps. Up the stairs.

"Quick!" Rob urged. "We've got to get everything back in place!" In mere seconds, the adrenaline rushing through them allowed the bookshelf to be heaved back into place. Gar ran around to the other side, and began taking books from the cart onto the shelf, so it didn't look out of place in the packed library.

"We've got to hide!" Victor hissed. He turned, but Rob grabbed his arm, whispering,

"Closer to the door! We'll be able to get out quicker." Victor nodded, and the three rushed forward, hiding behind the last bookshelf next to the tables near the door. In a moment, their hearts stopped, as the door creaked open and a silhouette came in. Rob bit his lip. It was the same one he had chased.

"I know you're in here." The silhouette stated simply, as soon as he entered. Rob bit harder. A metallic taste nipped his tongue.

"I heard you." The voice was smooth and regal. Eerie. He sauntered over to the checkout desk. "So come out now, and things will end up better." He paused, staring at the librarian's counter. In one swift motion, he swung his arm over the counter, knocking off books, figures, a cup of pens and pencils, and a scanner. They went soaring to the ground, clattering. Gar jumped slightly. The silhouette leaned over, staring behind the counter. After a moment, he returned to his normal stance, and stalked over to the computer section.

"Come one." Victor whispered. "We've got to move." Rob nodded, and the three dropped down to their knees, and silently but quickly scuttled over to the tables. Without breathing, Gar looked up from under the surface of the table. The silhouette was still going through the computer area. Gar brought up his hand, signaling for the others to follow him. With hearts about to burst through their chests, the boys went through the table section, hoping that the silhouette would not turn. As soon as they reached the end, they jumped to their feet, letting out a breath of relief.

"LOOK!" The silhouette screamed. The boys jumped, heart rates accelerating again. "I KNOW YOU ARE IN HERE SO COME OUT!" Rob felt a shiver go up his spine, remembering Rae's disappearance. He couldn't imagine what might happen.

The boys were behind a bookshelf, watching as the silhouette stormed out of the computer section. He turned towards the shelves the three had found the hollow spot in, disappearing behind some shelves and walls. The boys took their opportunity, and darted down the aisle. Four…three…two left. The boys were now becoming excited, the feeling overwhelming their fear.

Rob was almost to the last one, the magazine stand, but felt Victor grab his shoulder. He was jerked backwards, and turned to see why he was stopped. He saw Gar standing frozen in fear, staring forward. Rob turned to see what it was he was staring at. He was surprised as well. The silhouette was at the end of the aisle, storming straight towards Gar. If he came closer, then he would see the three. And…well, he wasn't sure what would happen after that. But he knew he didn't want to find out.

Gar closed his eyes, hoping the shadows masked him. The figure continued charging forward. He opened one eye. He was coming near. Gar's heart stopped as he realized where the silhouette was standing now.

Five feet away.

His back was towards Gar, yes, but if he turned around, ever so slightly, then Gar's hiding spot was up. Then Vic and Rob's were too. Gar stopped breathing, stopped thinking, trying not to let anything in his body make a sound. The seconds the silhouette stood there became lifetimes. In a moment he felt relief rush through his body, as the silhouette stepped forward and headed back into the other shelf sections again.

"Go!" Rob hissed as soon as the silhouette was out of hearing range from a whisper. The boys darted forward, and as soon as they were out of sight, opened the door and darted out. Gar held onto the handle, cushioning the closing of the door. There was no sound as if closed, and Gar let out the final sigh of relief, heart going again. He turned, and Victor instructed,

"Quick, go! Down to the janitor's office!" Gar and Rob nodded, and the three flew through the staircases, all the way downstairs. They stopped breathing, only focusing on getting downstairs. Rob raced faster than he ever had before.

Once downstairs, Victor grabbed the handle to the janitor's office, ripping it open. Gar and Rob darted in, collapsing on the ground as soon as they did. Their lungs were burning from their mad sprint, and they were recovering from the shock that they had just experienced. Victor came in right after, locking the door behind him and leaning against it in relief, eyes closed and chest rising and dropping rapidly from his panting.

"We need to find the others." He breathed out. There was no response but the heavy breathing of Gar and Rob. There was an odd escalation in it, however. Victor opened his eyes, to see the two.

"I said-" He was about to repeat himself, but noticed instead the look of surprise on Rob's face. He was staring ahead, eyes wide and mouth open. Victor turned to see what had made him act this way, and was just as much in shock when he saw what he was looking at. Staring right back at him was a section of the wall moved to the side, revealing a dark, cold and gaping black tunnel.

* * *

**A/N: Well, that's Chapter Twelve! Hope you all digged it, my friends. Drop a review please, I'd really appreciate it! Thanks for all of you who have been my loyal and encouraging readers! Hope you all have an awesome day! Chapter Thirteen soon. : )**

**Peace and rock on-  
Earth Blues Baby**


	14. Chapter Thirteen

**Everyday Average Ordinary: **Chapter Thirteen

_Earth Blues Baby_

**A/N:** Well, I had a couple things to say before I started off on this- first off, once again, thanks for all the awesome support and reviews I got from all of you guys! Your responses really keep me going, so thanks! Also, just to clear up, the chapters are one behind their labels due to Chapter Ten being a two-parter and my forgetting to label it that way. :O I know, my apologies man. And, also, no, they did not just leave the girls behind, Kori and Kitten are upstairs with Dick.

Well, also, the story is almost over! One chapter after this. Thanks for all your support throughout my friends! But, for any of you who enjoy my writing or are interested in seeing what might come next, I'm going to put out the first chapter of my next story, "Bits of Pieces" on Saturday, June 3rd. I hope to see a lot of you dropping reviews! Thanks so much for everything.

Peace and rock on-  
Earth Blues Baby

* * *

**Chapter Thirteen:**

"_I said-" He was about to repeat himself, but noticed instead the look of surprise on Rob's face. He was staring ahead, eyes wide and mouth open. Victor turned to see what had made him act this way, and was just as much in shock when he saw what he was looking at. Staring right back at him was a section of the wall moved to the side, revealing a dark, cold and gaping black tunnel._

"Man, this night just keeps getting weirder and weirder." Rob moaned, collapsing on the wall behind him and sliding down it, making an odd whining sound all the while.

"What is it?" Gar murmured, craning his neck to get a better look.

"It's a tunnel. As weird as that is. Why, _why,_ is there a _tunnel _in the janitor's office?" Victor exclaimed, putting his forehead in his hand. "A secret tunnel under our school!" He cried, an odd laugh playing at his words.

"No, look." Gar said, taking a few steps forward. "There's stairs." Rob's head immediately jerked up, and Victor looked curiously at the boy. The two walked towards Gar. They squinted into the darkness, and were even more shocked at what lie within it. Crude, barely noticeable stairs, tumbling downwards until they were engulfed in ebony.

"It goes underground." Rob noted.

"We should check it out." Gar stated.

"No." Victor said, stepping in front of the tunnel. "We need to get Dick, Kori and Kitten first. Before we do anything. Come on." Rob and Gar did not argue to this, and, they turned around, full of questions and confusion, but nonetheless turning their backs on the mysterious tunnel to receive their friends.

"Wow." Kitten said. Her eyes were glowing with shock. "Wow, guys, you are never going to believe this." She said slowly.

"After the way tonight has turned out, I think I just might." Dick stated. "Try me."

"All right. This is from four days after Moscahan's death. Listen up." Kitten straightened out her paper, and began reading. " 'A new turn and twists has come up on the death of local construction worker, 25-year-old Avery Moscahan. One that is looking quite more suspicious. Upon doing a follow-up report, Moscahan's still close childhood friend, Robert Delonning, who was interviewed for the original report, was interviewed once more. What came up was simply shocking. First of all, Moscahan's cause of death was reported as heart failure. It was fitting considering his family had a history of heart failure- his father died from a heart attack a year ago. What the original reporter had failed to put into their article, but what was brought up in the interview, was the fact that Avery Moscahan was adopted. Delonning knew the names of Moscahan's biological parents (both is adopted parents have passed), and I was able to discover that heart failure is not common in Moscahan's biological family. Not only this, but Moscahan has been an avid runner since his freshman year in high school, when he joined the track and field team. "He was constantly running," Delonning reports. "We'd go on marathons together all the time. That was why it was so surprising to me that he died of heart failure. His heart must have been strong as a horse's." This new turn in events may lead to other possibilities for the case of Avery Moscahan.'"

"Wow." Kori said.

"No. Wait." Dick said, and then began shuffling through the newspapers in front of him. "That's from four days after he died?…I saw a paper from five days later. Let me see if there's a follow-up article." Dick found the paper he was looking for, and flipped through to find an article of interest. He found one, and immediately began reading.

" 'What was known just yesterday as the Moscahan death case may very well become the Moscahan murder case very soon. Due to the article yesterday revealing that Moscahan was very unlikely for heart troubles, further investigation and interviews took place. Some that very well could prove murder. Because the mysterious cause of death (heart failure to an avid runner with no history of heart problems) was odd enough, that could prove the measures taken were indeed murder. Not only this, but motive could have been there too. After one more interview with Moscahan's best friend since childhood, Robert Delonning, yet another suspicious point was brought up. Just the night before the day of his death, Moscahan had been talking with Delonning. Delonning describes the conversation as Moscahan being very nervous about something. "He knew something." Delonning says. "There was something he knew about, and he had to tell someone. He was always such an honest person. It must have been a big deal if he was so nervous about it." Delonning says Moscahan's nervousness was due to what might happen if he told someone. Most likely, he was worried about hurting someone else. It seems his silence may have hurt him though. Delonning continues, "He didn't say exactly what it was. I guessed, though, that it has to do with something extremely big. Huge-scale. He said it would affect everyone in this town. I have no idea how Avery got information like this, but however he did…I wish he hadn't." Authorities are looking into what Moscahan may have known, but, it seems, the horizon looks bleak for whatever happened to Avery Moscahan'"

"Wow." Kori repeated. "And I haven't seen anything that says they found out who may have…killed him." She finished.

"So what do you think happened to him?" Kitten asked.

"What if…what if it had something to do with the money being stolen from all the banks?" Dick proposed. "That seemed like the biggest thing going on in Jump City at the time. If he knew who may have been behind it…"

"They may have killed him." Kori finished quietly.

"So what if-" Kitten started, but cut off the rest of her sentence with a gasp and wide eyes. The door to the classroom burst open, revealing three silhouettes standing in the doorway.

"Ohmygosh!" Kori gasped, shaking slightly. Before they could respond any further, a panicked voice cried,

"You guys! You have to see this!"

"Guys…" Dick sighed, relief flooding all the way to his fingertips. "You can't _do _that. Not with everything that's happened tonight."

"Sorry, but, you HAVE to come with us!" Victor urged. "There's a tunnel in the janitor's office!" He finished. There was a moment of stunned silence from Dick, Kori and Kitten.

"In the janitor's office?" Kitten repeated disbelievingly.

"Yes! Come _on_!" Rob exclaimed. The three got to their feet right away, and darted towards the door. The six were moving down the hallway, but were interrupted quite suddenly.

**_BANG BANG BANG!_** Rob stumbled backwards, Kori jumped with a slight gasp, and Kitten grabbed Dick's shoulder.

"Oh…" Kori whimpered, green eyes glowing.

"Is that the guy from the library?" Gar asked, rushed and panicked.

"What guy from the library?" Dick asked, eyes demanding an answer.

"The silhouette guy." Rob explained in a rushed voice. "We saw him in the library. He knows were in the building."

"What?" Kitten shot.

"It's the pipes though!" Kori urged, voice quaking with panic.

"We should go look at them." Dick said, taking a few steps towards the bathroom. The panic and confusion was swirling over everyone's heads, causing a thick, heavy feeling in the air.

"We know it's the pipes! We have to get downstairs!" Victor exclaimed.

"We haven't actually seen them though. We should go." Dick argued, storming off to the bathroom.

"Dick! Please! We need to go to the janitor's office!" Kori urged, grabbing his shoulder. He spun around, firmly looking at the girl.

"Kori." He said softly. "We need to find out what's going on here." Kori's eyes were wide with fright, and Dick took her hand as he led the group towards the noises.

"He's seriously going there?" Rob snarled, crossing his arms.

"Come on." Gar said, as they followed Dick and Kori. The six shortly ended up standing outside the boy's bathroom.

"C'mon." Dick instructed the group, as they stepped inside. The bathroom was cold, drafty, and frightening.

"There's noth-" Kitten started, but was interrupted by the strident metallic banging echoing out once more.

"Look!" Kori said, turning towards the pipes running down the wall. The rusty pipes were rattling and vibrating.

"It's definitely coming from the pipes." Dick said in a low voice.

"Good, we've determined that! Now there's some guy out there, can we leave?" Rob roared. Dick turned and looked at him hardly.

"Let's head downstairs." He said, voice unwavering. Kori quickly started to lead the group out the door and down the hallway. They were about halfway there, when, suddenly, there was yet another interruption.

"Not again." Gar gasped, closing his eyes tight. His knees began to wobble, and his head stung when he heard he crackling of a PA system.

Band music began.

"Someone's going to be gone at the end of this." Victor said. His voice was low and serious. The group looked around, taking in everyone's eyes.

"Who's going to go?" Rob whispered, but no one could reply. The jolly musician's voice sang out,

"Half an hour till the time

_You'll never hear another rhyme,_

_One more to your missing fate_

_Oh, joy, isn't high school great?"_

Darkness fell over the hallway. There was uneasiness. Thick silence. Waiting for light once more. Confusion swirling overhead. And then…light.

Five pairs of eyes looking at each other.

Five equally heightened senses of fear were amplified.

One voice whispered, "Kitten."

The girl was gone.

"We have to go downstairs." Dick said in a small voice.

"But she's gone!" Kori cried, the panic obvious in her voice. Her emerald eyes were staring uneasily at the spot where Kitten had stood just moments ago.

"Please, Kori, we need to go." Dick repeated. He took her hand, and began leading her towards the staircase. The other three followed, nervous and scared.

"Wait." Rob said, suddenly halting in his steps.  
"What?" Kori whispered, eye flickering back and forth, searching the hallways with alertness.

"Come on Rob, we have to go!" Victor urged.

"The song. We only have a half hour left, don't we?" He asked, panic obvious in his voice.

"Then let's not waste it standing up here!" Victor roared.

"But Kitten's gone!" Kori whined.

"Guys!" Dick exclaimed. "We _have_ to go downstairs. Come on." Without another word, he ambled towards the staircase. The other four followed in silence.

Dick, Kori, Victor, Gar and Rob faced the door of the janitor's office. Reaching out, Dick opened the handle, swinging it open. Kori gasped as she saw the gaping tunnel that had been revealed through the wall.

"Where does it go?" She whispered.

"I don't know." Victor said. "There's a staircase, but I have no idea. Underground, I guess." He replied.

"Only one way we're gonna find out." Dick said.

"We're going down that thing?" Rob asked slowly.

"Do you have any other ideas for our one way?" Dick asked, words biting with hostility.

"Well lead the way, Grayson." Rob sarcastically swung his hands forward, gesturing for the door. Dick took in a small breath, and then took a step towards the tunnel opening.

"It's so dark…" Gar whispered.

"Wait." Victor said, taking a step backwards. "There's a flashlight in here." He went over to the shelf where earlier that night he had found the flashlights. He grabbed the one sitting on the shelf, and handed it to Dick. "Here." Dick nodded in thanks, and started towards the blackness.

"Let's go." He said. He took a few more cautious steps forward, until he was standing in the entrance. Cold air wrapped around him, and there was an eerie silence suspended down the stairs. The stairs themselves dipped into ebony, lodged messily between chiseled gray rocks. Taking one more cautious step, Dick stepped onto the first step. Kori grabbed a hold of his arm. He held onto her arm with his other, in a combination of both trying to be comforting, and in his own fear as well. He heard a footstep behind him, and heard a low hum coming from Rob. A heavy footstep was behind Rob's, obviously Victor's as opposed to Gar's. A last footstep came, and Dick knew they were all heading down the stairs.

The flashlight he gripped in the arm Kori was clutching had a wobbling beam, illuminating cracked and broken rock. The stairs weaved slightly, continuing at their downward drop.

The stairs twisted, and the black darkness only grew heavier. The silence surrounding their footsteps was unbearable, but in the same way comforting, knowing that there was nothing else down there with them. But then again, what if they just couldn't hear…Dick pushed those thoughts out of his head, grabbing the flashlight tighter. His knuckles were white, but he couldn't see them. He illuminated a few more steps, and found that they were the last ones. He gave a sigh of relief. Four…three…two left…one.

They were downstairs.

Underground.

"Wow." Rob gasped as he stepped inside.

Everyone was in equal shock. They were standing in a room.

Dick slowly dragged the beam of light across the room. It had a tile floor, with bright, vivid blue and white tiles. There were counters against the far left wall. At the very top of the wall just below the ceiling was a thin, thin slit, a tiny window which let in a ribbon of moonlight. It fell against the counter below it. There were desks and cabinets and shelves and all sorts of things in the room.

"What is it?" Kori whispered.

"You know what it looks like?" Victor said slowly.

"A classroom." Rob said without hesitation.

"It does." Dick said, fascination in his voice. The room looked like many of the other classrooms in the building, except for the fact that it appeared to have never been used.

Kori took a step forward. There was a thick impression from where her sandal had been. There was so much dust everywhere. She walked in a silent, solemn stride towards the shelf under the window. Dick carried the flashlight with her so she could see. She stood in front of it, examining the rich wood that had been used. She dragged her finger across it. A line was left in the dust. The girl looked up, and saw a long, small seam of a book leaning against one of the shelves. Curious, she pulled it out. It, too, was covered in dust. She wiped her hand against it, and read the cover: _Jump City Construction_. Kori tilted her head to one side, curious. There was a red ribbon in the book, marking a page. She opened to the page, and gazed over the page. Moonlight illuminated the milky white paper, covered in pictures.

The first one was of five men sitting, eating lunch. They were at a construction site that Kori recognized. They were sitting in front of a concrete sign reading, "Carlton High School." There was wood, beams, and tools behind them. Little arrows pointed to the men, reading five names.

Below it was another picture, this of two men sitting on the beams. The first had jet-black hair, and was squinting towards the camera. His tan face was spotted in dirt, but his smile was still worn wide. Below him was the name "Eric Walden." Next to him was another man. He had light blond hair, shaggily over his baby blue eyes. He was grinning at the camera. A cowboy hat was atop his head, and small earrings dangled from his ears. His jaw was very square and strong, but his frame was rather gangly. Underneath this man was a name Kori had become quite familiar with.

"Avery Moscahan." She said aloud. She looked into the face, wondering if he knew what would bestow him. Very shortly, since this picture was taken during the school's construction.

"You should see this." Kori said. The boys walked over, looking at the page illuminated in moonlight.

"That's him." Dick whispered.

"What else is in here?" Rob asked. The group looked over the counters.

"What's this?" Victor said, grabbing a thin stack of papers. He put the first one down, and Dick shone the flashlight on it. It appeared to be notes of correspondence. The five drank in the words.

_KEY:_

_I know about what you've been up to lately. Please take care of it and do what is right. I don't know what to say, but I don't want you to get hurt because of it. _

_-A.M. _

The next was written in another handwriting.

_Just what is it that you think I'm up to? I doubt I will be in trouble. _

_  
KEY: _

_You know just as well as I do what investments you've been taking that should have been more securely out of reach. _

_-A.M._

Several things clicked in Dick's mind. "Wait a second…" He whispered. "Key, that's Skeleton Key Wilson, I'd bet. And A.M. could be Avery Moscahan." Kori nodded in agreement. "And this thing they're talking about, whatever it is that Wilson did, it sounds like it might be robbing the bank. Moscahan's not coming out and saying it, but listen to his wording- 'investments', 'more securely out of reach'- they didn't know who stole the money, and their security obviously wasn't doing a good job. It sounds like Moscahan was getting the point across that he knew." Dick explained.

"It sounds like it would make sense." Victor agreed. He looked down to read the next passage.

_Nothing will happen. Just keep quiet, I don't want to cause trouble for you. _

_------ _

KEY:

_I have to say something. Please take care of it yourself to help both of us. _

_-A.M._

_-------  
JUST STAY QUIET, I'M NOT "FIXING" IT. _

_-------_

_KEY: _

_I can't stay quiet, this isn't right. Please take care of it!_

_-A.M._

_-------- _

No.

_And if you can't be quiet on your own then I might have to make you. You're not ruining this Moscahan. _

-------

That was the end of the notes.

"That sounded rather…threatening." Rob stated simply.

"Moscahan knew Wilson robbed the bank." Victor stated.

"And I think he killed him because of it." Kori whispered.

"What?" Gar inquired.

"Skeleton Key said that he would have to silence Avery himself if he was going to talk about the bank robberies. Avery died. They didn't find out Skeleton Key robbed the banks." There was silence as this clicked in everyone's heads.

"Oh…oh, whoa. He did, didn't he?" Victor said, voice stunned.  
"What else is in here?" Rob asked. "This room seems full of surprises." They took this as a sign to keep searching, and Dick drew the flashlight over the cabinets, shelves, and drawers. Everything was so dusty, but the room was so empty. It looked like it had never been used by anyone in the school, at any time.

"Wait! Dick!" Victor said, grabbing the flashlight to stop him from moving it. The beam illuminated a small shelf, tall and narrow. Inside was a long, rolled up piece of paper.

"What is it?" Rob whispered. Dick pulled it out, and unrolled it.

"Wait…haven't we seen this before?" Kori asked, lowering her brow. The others were just as confused. They were looking at a blueprint. One of the high school. It looked exactly the same as the one upstairs, except for two major differences. The group quickly caught them.

"Look. This one shows the room we're in now." Dick pointed out. At the bottom of the blueprint, below what they had believed was the bottom story, was a staircase leading down to the room they were currently standing in. It was labeled "store room."

"It also is from a different guy." Victor said. In the bottom corner, where "Skeleton Key Wilson" was scribbled on the version upstairs, were five signatures. None of them belonged to Skeleton Key Wilson. Above the names was the label "Architects."

"Why is this so different?" Kori asked, confused.

"I think this might be the original one." Dick said slowly.

"That doesn't make sense. Why would they re-do it, without the basement and with a different guy?" Rob asked. There was no answer. Dick shrugged his shoulders.

"Maybe something was down here that wasn't supposed to be?" Victor suggested.

"But why was the door sealed off?" Kori asked another question. There was no answer, yet again.

"Should we look around some more? See if we can find an answer?" Vic suggested.

"Yeah, let's go." Rob said, spinning on his heel and taking a step forward.

"Wait…" Dick said, keeping the light shining on the blueprints.

"What?" Rob asked, turning his head. However, he missed a step in the darkness, and fell forwards. He hit a cabinet, sending it knocking over. A loud crash and echo came out, as well as an outburst from Rob.

"ROB!" Victor screamed, having not seen in the dark curtain and being unaware of what may have happened. His voice carried and echoed through the room.

"Rob! Are you all right?" Kori exclaimed as Dick brought the flashlight over to Rob. He was collapsed on the ground, rubbing his head. A drawer cabinet had fallen next to him.

"Yeah, I think so…" Rob replied.

"All right, good, we-"

**_BANG BANG BANG!_** Dick was cut off by a strident, metallic banging noise. Rob jumped forward, having heard it intensely near him.

"It's the noise from the pipes!" Kori whispered.

"But why is it so much louder?" Victor asked. The noise had intensified ten fold. It seemed to engulf them from all around, and bit at their ears and deafened everything around them but the crashing.

"Where is it coming from?" Rob asked, bringing his hands to his head once again. He had hit his head falling down, and this noise wasn't what he needed right now. It only increased, it was so much louder than it had been in the bathrooms. Upstairs it had seemed rumbling, somewhat distant, but now it was as if the noise was trapped within their heads.

Dick began dragging the flashlight beam around the room, searching for a source of the noise. He went over many things, none of them providing an answer for the crashing noises. Nothing seemed out of place.

"Oooh…it's so loud!" Kori murmured, clutching her head. Dick moved the flashlight farther, until, suddenly…

"It's gone." Rob whispered. The noises had ceased, and left a humming, uneasy air lingering in the room. The four stood in shocked silence, in a combination of two different things. The first was the fact that the noise had stopped. It had left them in curiosity, confusion, and the vibrating was locked within their heads.

The second reason was for what the flashlight had stopped on.

Another door.

There was an average-looking wooden door, brown with a big copper handle. It too was just as unused looking as the rest of the room.

"Where does it go?" Victor asked. Dick slowly began walking towards the door. The round beam of light began increasing as he neared it. Kori, Victor, and Rob followed him as well. As odd as it may seem, the door seemed almost threatening in a way. They were discovering a secret within a secret. Another secret room within a secret room. How much farther would things go?

They were standing in front of the door. They could feel their lungs wanting to breathe heavily, but their minds not letting them. Slowly, Dick drew his hand forward, gripping the handle. It was cold and smooth. He pulled.

Nothing.

The door was locked.

"What are we supposed to do now?" Rob asked in a voice below even a whisper. He wasn't sure why, but he felt anything louder couldn't be used.

"I don't think we can. We don't have the key." Victor sighed. There was a moment of still silence.

"Wait." Kori said. She began rummaging through her pocket, until she pulled something out. It was the old-fashioned key she had found in the hallway.

"It's worth a shot." She whispered. She slowly began bringing the key to the lock. Victor leaned forward, engulfing them in a dark shadow. Only the light of the flashlight was lighting the handle.

Kori put the key in, and turned it. There was still nothing. She sighed. The others lowered their heads, an odd sense of disappointment filling them. The silence and cold air around them wrapped around their face, sending a tingle down their spine.

"Wait." Kori suddenly snapped her head up. "I know what it is." Her eyes were wide and excited, sparkling with some sort of realization she was about to burst with.

"What?" Dick inquired.

"It's the moonlight." She stated. "The moonlight. We have to let the moon shine on it. The moon has always been around when something happened. Gil disappeared, his desk was in the trail of moonlight. Whenever I remember finding something, there was moonlight around. When the paper began making those words, it was when you put them in the moonlight. When Rae disappeared, it was in a hallway filled with moonlight, and nothing else." The others let these words sink in. They played their night through, and realized that whenever something had happened, the moon had been there.

Dick turned his head, looking at the thin ribbon of moonlight coming in from near the ceiling.

"Victor." He said. "Move your shoulders. Let the moonlight in." Victor nodded, shifting his position. The thin beam came through to the door, illuminating specks of dust floating through the air.

Kori took a deep breath, turning the key one more time. She closed her eyes tight, waiting for what might happen.

_Click._

The door swung open.

* * *

**a/n: **Hey everyone! Thanks for reading the chapter, one more to go. Please leave a review, I really want to hear your feedback now that the story is almost complete. Thanks to all!

Peace and rock on-  
Earth Blues Baby


	15. Intermission

Hey everybody,

I cannot believe this story is still getting reviews and reads. But, I am flattered by your reception of this, and I vow to finish it for you. I will begin writing the final chapter…and I promise for real that I'll update this time

-Earth Blues Baby


	16. Chapter Fourteen

Everyday Average Ordinary

CHAPTER FOURTEEN

A/N:  
Well, I can't believe it either, but here is the ending of Everyday Average Ordinary! Let me start off by saying I'm so sorry this wasn't finished earlier. The laptop I had written the complete story on broke, the story was inaccessible, and the hope kind of vanished for me. But, I have re-written my ending for my fans, and here it is, better than ever! I've stretched it out over more than one chapter, though, because I added things I didn't have before that make it too much for one chapter.

Anyways, read and review, man! I'd really appreciate to hear all your thoughts, especially some of my old, faithful reviewers!

Thanks so much for everyone's long-time interest in this story Without further ado, here is the next installment of Everyday Average Ordinary.

-Peace and Rock On,

Earth Blues Baby

* * *

_"Victor." He said. "Move your shoulders. Let the moonlight in." Victor nodded, shifting his position. The thin beam came through to the door, illuminating specks of dust floating through the air._

_Kori took a deep breath, turning the key one more time. She closed her eyes tight, waiting for what might happen._

_Click._

_The door swung open._

Blackness was inside. The thin beam of moonlight illuminated into the back of the room, showing only a dusty, cracking brick wall.

"He got someone else." A voice broke through the solid darkness shrouding the rest of the room.

"Bea?" Kori hesitantly asked, seeming to recognizing the familiar voice.

"Kori? Oh no, he got Kori!" Bea wailed.

"We're never getting out of here!" Allan's voice moaned through the darkness.

"Guys, it's us!" Victor called, panning the flashlight around the room. "Bea!" He gasped when the light fell on her. Huddled up in the corner next to Kitten was Bea, hugging her knees to her chest. Her eyes widened, and she exclaimed,

"You guys! It's them!" A smile expanded from cheek to cheek, and she slowly lifted her head off of her knees, as if barely believing that her friends were standing before her. Kitten's jaw had dropped slightly and she leaned her forehead forward, eyebrows arching upwards.

"Are you all in there?" Gar asked hopefully.

"Yeah, all of us!" Gil's voice called back.

"Gil!" Dick was delighted to hear the original missing student's voice. "Vic, pan the flashlight across the room," he instructed. Victor swung the light from side to side, revealing Matt and Allan sitting to the left of Kitten and Bea, Gil pacing in the middle of the room, and Rae sitting cross-legged in the opposite corner.

"Rae!" Gar exclaimed. He pushed past Kori to get into the room, running up to the girl and engulfing her in an enormous hug, burying his face against her shoulder. She wrapped her arms around him as well, relief washing over her that they had been discovered.

"What is this place?" Dick asked as Kori also burst forward to embrace her friends. "How long have you been down here?"

"Probably since they disappeared, idiot." Rob snarled.

"It's just an empty room." Gil responded, narrowing his eyes at Rob. He seemed to have the same immediate distaste to the runner as Dick had.

"Do you know what this place is?" Dick repeated his question as he began walking into the room.

"There's nothing in here except bricks, a vent, and a pipe." Gil responded.

"A pipe?" Victor repeated.

"Yeah."

"Like the ones in the bathroom?"

"Yeah, we've been hitting it periodically to try to get your attention. I guess it worked! You got down here!" Gil smiled as Dick came up and gave him a brief hug that was more like a chest bump and pat on the shoulder. "Nice to see you again." He laughed.

Kori couldn't help but giggle. "So that's the sound we've been hearing all night! You scared us so badly!" She had pulled Bea and Kitten into a group hug. Bea was still smiling and Kitten still had a dazed look over her pale features.

"But that's not what got us down here." Dick said, shaking his head sternly. "We heard the banging, but we had no idea where it was coming from. Well, we figured it was coming from the pipes in the bathroom, but we had no idea why they would be shaking so much. We only got down here because Victor, Gar, and Rob found a lever that opened up a secret tunnel in the janitor's office." There was silence.

"What the—" Matt began.

"WHAT?" Bea stated flatly.

"I know it sounds unbelievable, but that's what happened." Victor responded. "We were looking around in the library because Rae had heard voices through the vent.

"I think I just heard everyone talking." Rae explained. "Look, there's a vent right up there." She pointed her finger upwards, and Victor adjusted the flashlight beam from Rae and up into the corner of the room, where a silver vent cover was on the ceiling.

"How could you even see that in here?" Rob asked. "It's pitch dark."

"Whenever the guy would bring us down here the entire room filled up with moonlight." Matt explained.

"How? There's barely any coming through now." Rob repeated, voice grumbling and gruff.

"The guy…We need to get out of here. He's still upstairs." Dick said urgently.

"Yeah, and he's pissed." Gar said in a small voice. Dick raised his eyebrow in question, but realized that he probably couldn't be seen in the dim room, so voiced,

"What do you mean?"

"He was chasing us through the library, yelling at us and stuff." Victor responded in a grave voice.

"Why didn't you say that before?" Dick demanded, clenching his jaw.

"Uh, sorry, must have been a little distracted by the tunnel of doom next to the cafeteria, dude." Victor shot back, throwing his shoulders back. "Don't do this right now, man. We got our friends back. We can get out of here."

"Victor is right." Kori nodded her head shallowly. "We must leave before he finds us."

"All right then!" Kitten spat, finally regaining her voice. "Let's get out of here _now_, then!" She dragged Kori and Bea towards the door.

"This place is so creepy." Allan muttered as they began to file into the small room with the letters and blueprints.

"Yeah, I'm never setting foot in this freaking school again." Matt agreed under his breath.

"Oh my gosh…" Bea whispered as she looked at the staircase leading up to the janitor's office. "Never in a million years…"

"Didn't you guys see this when you got brought down here?" Gar asked. Rae shook her head.

"No, it was just…strange. We were all suddenly at the door, the guy gripping onto us. I was really groggy when he threw me in here; I think I may have gotten hit in the head or something. But he had the strongest grip and I felt too weak to fight it, and his hands were so cold they were like ice…" Her voice trailed off as she recounted the abduction.

"He just threw us in here, though." Gil explained. "I don't remember anything before being in front of the door, either."

"Well, then let's get out of here." Dick muttered. "He got you all out of nowhere; we know he's quick."

"Let's get out of here instead of standing around talking about it!" Rob snarled.

"Victor, lead the way, you have the flashlight. Everyone hold hands so no one stumbles on the stairs. They're uneven." Dick commanded.

"Hold hands?" Kitten asked gleefully, pushing past Kitten to get near Dick.

"This isn't middle school, Kitten." He spat. "This is so that we can get out of here alive tonight." There was a boom of thunder that resounded in the silence. It was the first time Dick had snapped that night, the first time he had fully admitted the severity of the situation. They had all had moments of panic, but he had been the cool voice of reason, the logic keeping them all stable. There was something about hearing him admit that this could have been their last living day that made a somber mood drop onto all of them.

Silently, Victor reached behind him and took Bea's hand. She held on to Kori's hand, and they formed a chain to head upstairs. Matt formed the end of the line, and couldn't see anything with Victor so far ahead of him. His knuckles were turning white from his grip on Allan, slowly mimicking his every step, yet still stubbing his toes on the stone steps.

"Are we almost there?" Rae's voice asked from somewhere near the end of the chain.

"Almost." Gar responded, a little further up in the line.

"How did this get here?" Kitten asked, bewildered.

"The blueprints upstairs aren't the originals." Rob explained. "The real ones are down here. This room, the staircase, they're all on the originals. Someone hid them from the school."

"But why?" Allan asked. There was no response.

There sound of thunder resonated in the tunnel, and everyone's skin was turning clammy during the slow march upstairs.

"You guys, we're almost there." Victor announced after what seemed like ages. Bea sounded a sigh of relief as she peered forward and could see the doorway to the tunnel.

"I am so ready to go home." Her voice was small and sob-like, revealing the stress that had been weighing down on her all night.

"We're almost here." Victor reassured her. He made the final step into the janitor's office, and turned to shine the flashlight beam into the tunnel so that the students behind him could see where their footsteps were being placed. This helped speed up the march, and soon everyone had passed through into the janitor's office again.

"We made it." Gil breathed a sigh of relief, looking around. "So this is where you guys have been hiding out all night, huh?"

"Yeah. Who would have thought this would be a refuge spot at this school." Dick let out a breathy sound that sounded like a choked chuckle that didn't quite have enough heart to fully form.

"So they've kept you up to date with what's been happening, then?" Victor asked. Gil nodded.

"Yeah. We've seriously got to get out of here. This isn't good at all. I'm just glad I didn't have to hear one of those songs." He shuddered at the eerie thought of what his classmates must have gone through with those jingles.

Bea's eyes suddenly became wide. "What time is it?" She demanded. Dick looked at his wrist.

"11:30." He announced gruffly.

There was a silence in the room. The sounds of the storm were muffled in the janitor's office. The sound of the pouring rain and wind had become so constant the students couldn't imagine any other sound filling their ears.

"What should we do?" Gar asked quietly.

"We're going to die in here." Kitten moaned, grabbing her long, blond hair in her hands. "I'm going to die." She repeated.

"No one's going to die." Gil spat. "We'll find a way out." The last part was much softer, and no one was sure if it was from sympathy or his own uncertainty in those words.

"We're fairly certain that the man who is in here with us is dangerous." Dick announced, stepping towards the door of the janitor's office, taking command of the situation once again.

"What makes you say that?" Matt asked.

"We think that he was involved in the murder of a man who helped build this school." Dick's voice was tight as he announced this.

"So he actually would kill us." Kitten said flatly, her blue eyes wide.

"Yes. It's a possibility. We have the advantage, though. There's way more of us than there are of him." Dick said firmly. "We can get out of here."

"Where? How?" Gar asked. Dick sighed.

"Let's go up to the library." He announced. "We may get better reception from the highest point in the building." His eyes looked down as he tried to hide his own uncertainty from the group. They had depended on him this whole night, and he didn't think he could admit that he was out of ideas, out of solutions. That there really might be no way out. His fingertips felt numb and dull at the thought.

"Are you crazy?" Rob hissed. "The library? Did you not hear that we almost just lost OUR lives in there?" He spread his arms out wide in disbelief.

"It's a good idea." Rae agreed softly. "We're all together again now and we need to stay together. But we've been trying to get out of this building all night without any luck. Chances are that our way out is coming from the outside." There was silence as it washed over the group that they had tried every escape they could think of, and none had worked. The best option they may have is hoping for cell phone reception somewhere in the building.

"What about that window?" Gar asked, suddenly perking up. "Remember, the one in the boy's bathroom? I mean, if he could get through that, we may be able to, too!" He smiled slightly.

"How? That window is on the top floor of the building. He must have had a ladder or something." Rob said in a bitter voice.

"Well, then it would still be there!" Gar responded hopefully. "I mean, it's worth a shot, and it's a better chance of escape than hoping our cell phones magically get reception."

"I think it's a good idea." Bea said with a firm nod of her head. "Let's try that; that sounds like solid chance for us."

"All right, then. Let's go to the bathroom again." Dick said, secretly grateful that they had worked together and come up with a viable plan, while he had relied on another shot in the dark. He was beginning to worry that he had started running out of ideas. He had become so tired; his adrenaline was barely keeping him awake any longer. Normally, he would have gone to bed a few hours ago. He didn't see any sign of sleepiness on the others' faces, though, and it made him worry that he was the only one feeling his mind begin to wander off towards fatigue. Sure, they all looked emotionally exhausted, but he was the only one who now had raisin-colored bags drooping beneath his eyes. He was feeling the fear that everyone else had expressed openly throughout the night cave away in his chest, carve bags beneath his eyes, and gnaw at his mind as the mysterious deadline loomed over it.

"Move as quietly as you can." Victor whispered. "We have no idea where this guy is anymore, but we don't want to find out. The slower we go, the better chance we have of hearing him before he hears us." The group gave a round of silent nods or thumbs up, and then set down the hallway as quietly as they could muster. The sounds of the storm thankfully dimmed their breathing, and the group moved silently, ghost-like, through the hallway and to the staircase. Dick, who was leading the group, craned his neck forward to peek around the side. He looked up on the second floor, but saw and heard nothing. He slowly put his foot on the first step, then the second…More of the second floor was revealed, and still, nothing.

"I'm going up first." He announced in a barely audible whisper. "You guys wait here for my signal." Victor nodded, and then repeated the message to the tail end of the group, who hadn't heard Dick's near-silent command.

Dick slowly strained himself up the stairs, onto the landing, and weaving around to the flight to the second floor. He pressed himself up against the wall, and peered around the corner. No one. Nothing. He looked back down at the eager heads looking up at him nervously. He waved his hand, and Victor slowly began creeping up the stairs behind him, followed by the rest.

The group was now on the second floor, and weaved their way around the staircase to the third. Finally, after what felt like ages, but was only mere minutes, the group had arrived on the fourth floor, home to the library, classrooms, and the boy's bathroom they had come to investigate.

"This is the last place we saw him." Dick whispered. "We need to be careful." He silently crept forward, tiptoeing on the tile. Thankfully, the boy's bathroom was nearer the staircase than the girl's, so they arrived shortly. The group filed into the room, Matt closing the door behind them.

"It's a lake in here." Rae announced flatly and quietly. The rain coming in through the open window had created a deep puddle on the floor. The heel of her jeans had instantly become soaked, and everyone's shoes became damp and cold in the icy rainwater. The storm was howling and echoing in the room, sounding as if it were going to swallow them whole.

"Did you guys check for a ladder earlier?" Gil asked, looking at the hacked-up wood beneath the window with cautious eyes and a tight mouth.

"No…we…there was a song…" Gar started, trying to find an explanation for why the area would not have been explored more thoroughly upon its discovery, but Gil just nodded in understanding.

"Someone needs to look." Kitten commanded. "I'm too short. I'm out." There was silence as no one volunteered.

"I'll do it." Victor said gruffly, stepping forward. There was something ominous about the destruction done to the window. Whoever had destroyed it was capable of a rage he did not want to experience, even if just by exploring the window for a moment. With a deep breath, Victor lifted the window slightly higher, face instantly blasted by a harsh spray of rainwater, brittle like sand being thrown at him. He squinted his eyes to see through the storm. He looked down. The football field was in view from this window. Victor's heart tightened at the thought of him on that very field earlier that day, unknowing what would befall him tonight.

"Do you see anything?" The wind was hurting his ears with its high speeds, but he could vaguely hear the voice behind him, although he didn't know who it belonged to. Victor squinted a bit more to get a better view of what was below them. The grass was so murky and muddy it was hard to see anything. He was looking for the glinting of a ladder or the outline of rungs in the grass below. There was nothing, though. He couldn't have gotten in this way. With a frustrated sigh, Victor began to pull his neck back in defeat, and then noticed something a mere few inches below his eyesight. A silver carabineer. It had been dug into the side of the building, just below the windowsill.

"This is how he got in!" Victor announced, turning his head around suddenly. His bald head was slick with rainwater, and he frantically wiped the water from his eyes.

"Do you see a ladder?" Rob asked.

"No, there's a carabineer. He stuck a carabineer in the wall." Victor announced wildly.

"How? This is the fourth floor. There's no way he could have done that _without_ a ladder." Matt responded dully.

"And someone would have seen some dude lugging around a ladder tall enough to get on the fourth floor." Gar said, voice flat.

"Then he must have done it from in here." Kori announced, voice unwavering. "He must have been in this building today, during school. And he put the carabineer in and left it until tonight." There was silence from the group. The wind whistled through the bathroom as they let this thought sink in.

"He was…in here…with us…" Kitten's voice was shaking, and she grabbed her arms, rubbing them as if she were freezing, even though she was wearing a sweater.

"What if we saw him?" Rae asked quietly, trying to replay her day, wondering if she had even noticed someone so dangerous in the building.

"Is there rope?" Dick asked. "There had to have been rope attached if that's how he got in."

Victor turned again, ducking his head out the window, this time in search of rope. He looked down on the football field. There was a plastic bag being blown across the turf, looking like a jellyfish as the wind puffed it up. It wildly went in every direction before ending up caught on the branches of a tree. He looked at the carabineer, and saw that nothing was attached to it. He took in a sharp breath of air, the water coming up his nose making him choke. Sputtering, he turned his head to the side. He shook the feeling off, and opened his eyes. Hanging in a bare, dark tree was a snake-like, long, tawny rope, draped from the branches and frayed at the end.

Victor ducked back into the bathroom. "There is! It's in the tree now. The wind must have gotten it." The others looked with wide eyes.

"So we can't get out this way?" Bea asked, voice shaking. Victor looked to the ground.

"No. Not without a new rope." Thunder boomed behind him. Everyone in the room had goosebumps from the frigid wind and bitter rainwater coming in through the open window.

"Can we find one?" Gar asked. "Do you think there'd be one, like, in the janitor's office or something?"

"I guess it's worth a shot." Victor shrugged. "I don't remember seeing one though, and we've searched this school eighteen times tonight."

"And all the windows on the first floor are locked, as are the second, and the third. This is the only window we've found open." Rae said in a deadpan voice. "This is our best shot. Let's look for a rope." There was no answer. Finally, Dick sternly nodded his head.

"She's right." He said. "Let's look for one." He led the trod through the water back to the bathroom door. He carefully peered around the corner, making sure no one was coming. He nodded his head, and then took the first step into the hallway.

_Sqqquuueeeeakk. _He stopped, frozen, wondering what the sound was. His body was tense and rigid. He looked all around him. Nothing. His heart was pounding. Was the man going to show up? Nothing. He took another step.

_Sqqquuueeeeakk. _It sounded out again. Dick looked down. It was his soaking wet tennis shoes.

"Guys!" He whispered. "Take off your shoes. We're too loud." He knelt down, untying his shoes. "Keep them in the bathroom so it's not obvious we've been up here."

"I'm not going around barefoot." Kitten said, glaring her eyes.

"Oh, I'm sorry, would you rather have some psychopathic murderer rip you to shreds like that window?" Rob hissed at her. Kitten glared back, but stiffly removed her heels, as commanded.

"Put them in the bathroom stall in case he comes back in here." Victor instructed.

"Good idea." Matt muttered as he collected the group's shoes with Bea. The two put them on top of the toilet bowl so they would be out of sight if the man re-entered the bathroom.

"I don't think I ever want these back." Bea said as she bid farewell to her favorite pumps, now soggy with rainwater. One plopped down into the toilet bowl, splashing lightly. "Definitely not."

Dick had begun creeping forward in his bare feet. They were pale and clammy after having been trapped in the frigid rainwater from the bathroom. But they were silent, and that's what he cared most about. He crept down the staircases, until they had reached the first floor again. Dick breathed a sigh of relief when he knew they had successfully made the journey back downstairs without being given away. He felt as if his heart had been working overtime and his lungs barely moving.

"Back to the jan—" He began, but was interrupted by a sudden popping. The PA system.

"What time is it?" Kitten murmured from behind him. Dick looked down at his watch. His heart sank.

12:00 AM.

* * *

There you go! I'm already working on the next chapter (which will not be lost to the years in my computer), so have no fear, it will come soon. Reviews motivate me, though, so click that button, please :)

Peace and Rock on,

Earth Blues Baby


	17. Chapter Fifteen

Everyday Average Ordinary  
CHAPTER FIFTEEN

_Dick had begun creeping forward in his bare feet. They were pale and clammy after having been trapped in the frigid rainwater from the bathroom. But they were silent, and that's what he cared most about. He crept down the staircases, until they had reached the first floor again. Dick breathed a sigh of relief when he knew they had successfully made the journey back downstairs without being given away. _

_ "Back to the jan—" He began, but was interrupted by a sudden popping. The PA system._

"What time is it?" Kitten murmured from behind him. Dick looked down at his watch. His heart sank.

_ 12:00 AM._

The PA system continued to pop and sputter, trying to find its voice.

"What time is it?" Kitten asked in a louder, harsher voice.

"Midnight." Dick choked back.

_Rrrrrrrrrrrrrr…_. The high-pitched, ringing squeal of the bell rang out through the hallways. It showered out of the PA system, unusually loud as it echoed through an empty hallway it wasn't used to.

"AHHHHHHHHHHH!" Kori let out a resounding wail as soon as she heard the bell. It made everyone double over, the tambour shaking their eardrums and shattering their stealth. Everyone turned and looked at her. Her eyes grew wide and she clapped her hands over her mouth, realizing what she had just done. Her knees shook slightly, and her stomach turned at the thought that she had revealed their spot.

The bell didn't turn off. Its shrill sound seemed to creep beneath the teeth of the students, making them cringe and cover their ears.

"What's happening?" Bea asked over the sound.

"Is a song going to play?" Gil's voice shook.

Lights began to flicker on and off. The hallway went from a few seconds in sterile, florescent light, and then dipped into a bath of darkness. Lights on…lights off…lights on…lights off.

"Is he in the principal's office doing this?" Victor asked.

"What do we do?" Matt roared.

"Go to the janitor's office!" Dick commanded. He began running down the hallway, not caring what his bare feet sounded like on the floor. Kori had already screamed. He knew where they were. He had heard it, even over the bell ringing. They were going to have to find some rope if they were going to get out of there. He didn't allow himself the thought of what they would have to do if they couldn't find any. He stumbled every few seconds, the shifting light and dark disrupting his pace.

"Ooof!" Dick heard something crash behind him. He turned. The lights flickered off.

"What happened?" He roared over the bell, frustrated by the sudden darkness.

"I fell!" Gar announced. "I slipped!" The lights turned back on. Gar was on his knees on the floor, wincing with a look of pain over his features.

"Are you all right?" Rae asked as she kneeled down.

"I think I twisted my ankle." He moaned. He reached forward and clasped his palm over it, letting out a cry of pain, retracting his hands immediately.

"Let me see it." Rae said, pulling his hand away. Already there was a blue bruise blooming above his foot, looking swollen and tender to the touch.

"Can you put any weight on it?" Dick asked impatiently. His eyes kept darting back and forth to either end of the hallway, just waiting for Wilson to show up, ready to finish them off. The lights turned off again. Dick felt himself grinding his teeth as he waited for Gar's response, unable to see for himself. They turned back on.

"I don't kno—AH!" Gar had tried to stand back up, but his knees buckled under him and he fell again onto the floor.

"Here, dude." Victor pushed his way past the rest of the students to offer Gar his shoulder. "Lean on me."

"I can't reach that high." Gar murmured, trying to lean on Rae, who pressed her lips together as she tried to support his full weight. She knew she wasn't going to be able to run forward supporting him.

"Then up you go." Before Gar could object, Victor had hauled him over his shoulder. "All right, keep moving." He announced. While under normal circumstances this would have been a comical and lighthearted sight for everyone, the necessity and urgency of the situation caused not even a second thought among any of them. They started down the hallway again, running in pulses timed with the moments of light. Dick practically kicked the door to the janitor's closet in when they reached it.

"Is there anything we can wrap his ankle in?" Gil asked, looking around.

"There! First aid kit!" Kitten pointed to a puffy pouch on a shelf.

"Great." Victor put Gar down on the desk, opening the first aid kit and grabbing an elastic and nylon wrap out of it. He expertly wound it around his ankle, having done the same thing to himself countless times over his years of football.

"How does that feel?" Victor asked. Gar hesitantly lowered himself off the desk, gently lowering his weight onto his ankle.

"Okay…I can stand on it this way." He announced.

"Good." Rae murmured, letting out a sigh of relief.

"What do we do though?" Bea asked. "I think…I think he knows we're in here."

"I'm so sorry!" Kori burst out, tears rolling down her cheeks. "He's going to find us and it's all my fault!"

"Yeah, good going, Anders." Rob hissed through his teeth, eyes narrowing and arms crossing over his chest.

"Hey!" Dick barked. "Don't talk to her like that! She didn't mean to do it!" His own chest was puffing out slightly, irate with the fowl attitude Rob had been sporting all night.

"Yeah, well, in case you haven't noticed, we've all been on our best behavior to avoid giving away our position since this is, oh, you know, a life and freaking death situation. She's the first one to screw up." Rob's voice was venomous.

"I'm so sorry!" Kori repeated, hunched over with tears flowing freely down her cheeks.

"He should be the one apologizing to you!" Dick growled at Rob.

"For what?" Rob spat. "I wasn't the one who screamed!"

"He's right!" Kori wailed, choking and sputtering. "It's my fault! I ruined everything!"

"No!" Dick roared over them both. "This is—"

"Shut up!" Rae hissed, pointing her finger towards the door. "SHUT UP!"

Rob and Dick both relaxed their postures as the turned to look through the fogged glass window of the janitor's door.

"Do you hear it?" Rae asked. Dick could hear his heart pounding angrily in his chest…Kori's shallow breathing as she tried to hold back her tears. And…footsteps.

"Lock the door!" Dick commanded. Matt, who was closest to the door, flung his hand at it and twisted the lock. "Hide!" Dick ordered. The group huddled into the nearest place they could find shelter. Dick's mind was racing. So Kori _had_ given them away. Wilson knew where they were. He had probably followed them in there. It was midnight. There was nothing left they could do. They hadn't searched for rope. Even if they did, how would they get up several flights of stairs without Wilson seeing when he was right there? They were doomed.

Dick looked up at the glass. There was a silhouette, clearly of a man, with Wilson as the only choice. It stood, menacing and still, facing into the room. Dick didn't even dare breathe. Was there the possibility that he didn't know they were in there and he was trying to get to the secret passage? Surely he knew how to access it if he had hid it in the blueprints. He would be the only one who knew how to access it.

The doorknob started to rattle. Dick held his breath. Matt locked the door. They would be okay.

_Click. _The door swung open with a creak. Dick mentally began screaming at Matt. Had he not locked it? It couldn't have been that bad of a lock…

Wilson took a step into the room. He took a survey of it, looking at the mops, brooms, and buckets lining the shelves. He took another step, this time towards the entrance to the basement passageway. Dick tried to imagine the look on his face right now. Surprise? Anger? Relief?

Another footstep. Another step closer to the entryway. Another one. Dick could see his shoe now, moving gingerly towards the basement. Finally, he was standing right in front, gazing into the gaping darkness and haphazard staircase. He put his hands behind his back, just peering down, absorbed in thought. After what seemed like an eternity, his chin titled back up so he was looking straight ahead of him. He turned on his heel, facing some arbitrary location in the janitor's closet.

"I know you're all in here." He announced in a slithery, smooth voice.

Dick's heart stopped. He couldn't seem to get his body to move. He wanted to keep hiding there, believing that Wilson was bluffing.

"I said, I know you're all in here. Hiding. From me." Wilson's voice was regal and smooth, not showing the slightest hint of any emotion.

There was the sound of a wheel jerking. Rob had been hiding in one of the large trash cans and had made a move to spring out, but had fallen short and just moved the bin. It was all over. There was no continuing to hide now.

Wilson took a few quick strides over to the trash bin, his jaw tensing and mouth twisted and irate. He reached a swift, strong arm into the bin, as if he was going to pull Rob up by the collar.

"Hey!" Wilson's movement stopped as he turned. Gar popped up from his crouched position in one of the shelves. "Eat dirt, jerkface!" In a swift and fluid motion, Gar ripped open one of the bags of mulch that was sitting next to him on the shelf and hurled it in Wilson's face. Wilson let out a howl, ducking and wiping his eyes. "RUUNNNN!" Gar howled, leaping practically across the room and tearing out the door. The rest of the students followed suit, scurrying from their positions and out the door as Wilson howled, doubled over, plant fertilizer burning in his eyes and mouth.

The group had split up into several directions, spilling into the hallway without a plan.

"Follow me!" Dick called, sprinting as fast as he could. He could hear the rapid beating of footsteps behind him, slapping against the tile floor as they followed him to the staircase. Dick charged up it, skipping the stairs two or three at a time. Rob and Victor were surpassing him, rounding the landing to the next flight of stairs. They spilled out into the hallway, Victor turning around with a look of terror on his face and sweat dripping down his neck.

"Where do we go?" He asked.

"Is he behind us?" Rob asked. Matt turned down the hallway.

"No…" He panted. "Not yet…"

"Go to the cafeteria!" Dick commanded, sprinting again down the hallway towards the double doors that led to the cafeteria. Rob reached them first, shoving them open. They swung violently, and Victor paused to hold them open as the group scurried through them.

The lunch tables had been folded up and pushed to the sides of the rooms so that the janitors could mop the muddy footprints and food scraps from the floor. The windows were wide against the wall, revealing the raging storm outside. Raindrops were bursting against the glass, exploding with frigid fright and dieing in the flickering of lightning and the howling of thunder.

"Get in the kitchens!" Dick commanded. The group raced past the counters where the cash registers and condiments were housed. They spilled through the gates that led back into the kitchens. The stoves, ovens, dishwashers, and industrial sized refrigerators and freezers lined the walls. Ladels and spoons hung from the metallic walls.

"There's a panty back here." Gar announced. "It leads back into the hallway. The door is always locked from the outside."

"How do you know?" Kitten spat, panting and looking over her shoulder.

"I know this school inside and out. I've made it my business." The prankster spat back. "We can hide in there and watch for him in the hallway. When he leaves we can exit through the door and get out of here."

"Good. Let's—" _Slam!_ Simultaneously, everyone in the group ducked swiftly out of view, collapsing onto their hands and knees. "Lead the way!" Dick hissed in a whisper at Gar. He nodded, and silently but quickly began crawling between the rows of countertops and sinks. Dick leaned his back against the serving counter, peeking to see where Wilson might be. He stood at the doors, looking at the rows of tables pressed against the far wall. Dick turned back towards the group.

"Only a few at a time." He whispered. "Be quiet." He flagged on the first group, hoping the smaller numbers would avoid any clamor of people being shoved into the ubiquitous metal in the school kitchen. Rae, Kitten, and Rob followed Gar on hands and knees through the narrow row between the countertops, scratched and still wet from leaky faucets. Dick turned back, holding his breath, to see what Wilson was doing. He was walking towards the tables, holding onto the first one and ripping it away from the group with a mighty grunt. Dick saw Kori jump up a little. She closed her eyes. Dick turned back to see Rob disappear from view.

"Go. Make sure you don't lose them." He whispered. Bea, Victor, Matt, and Allan then followed the group, Victor barely small enough to fit through the narrow passage.

"I SEE YOU MOVING BACK THERE!" Dick almost hit his head against the counter as he spun around to see Wilson, desperately flinging the tables behind him. "I HEARD YOU!" Dick's eyes were wide. What was Wilson talking about? He turned to see Allan, moving as slow as he could without making noise. It was taking too long. The others had been swifter. He had to get moving if Kori, Gil, and him were going to get out of here. He was barely halfway down there…

"SHOW YOURSELVES!" Wilson tossed another table out of the way. Dick heard squeaking as two terrified but hefty rats emerged from the darkness of the folded tables, scurrying past Wilson and making a mad dash towards the doors. So that's what he had heard…

Dick's heart stopped as Wilson let out a frustrated roar, doubling over and throwing another table out of his way. He turned, looking towards the kitchens.

"Go." Dick ordered sternly. Gil and Kori each started crawling as fast as they could between the counters. Allan had just rounded the corner, disappearing with the others.

Dick paused for a moment, hoping to hear what Wilson was doing. Footsteps. Fast. Moving towards them.

"Faster!" He hissed at Kori. She rounded the corner the others had disappeared behind, and saw Gil taking up the rear of the line as they headed past the rows of refrigerators into a door Gar was ushering everyone into. It was just within sight.

"Stop!" Dick commanded. He pushed Kori in the other direction the group was headed, and the two pressed their backs against the tall metallic counter. There was footsteps behind them. Wilson was there. Dick turned to look towards Gar, who had just gotten Gil through the door. Gar's green eyes were wide and frightened, waiting for a command from Dick. The appointed leader took a deep breath, and then flagged Gar away.

"Follow me." He said to Kori, knowing that they would have given away their path if Wilson saw them turning towards the closet. Kori had tears welling up at the bottom of her eyes, her makeup already caked on her cheeks from crying and now blurring further. She didn't object, though, and Dick started in the other direction, heading towards the far wall where the industrial sized dishwashers and racks of lunch trays were lined up. They reached the wall, and turned, pressing their backs against the counters once more. They both held their breath. Dick could hear Wilson approaching the other side of the counter. He could either move forward towards the walk-in freezer, turn left to the pantry everyone else was hiding in, or turn right and see Dick and Kori. He waited, trying to logic out what would happen…He needed to get Kori into that pantry. He couldn't do it with Wilson standing right there. They couldn't keep crawling around this kitchen. He would find them. Footsteps. A pull. The cold release of breath of a freezer opening.

"Go!" Dick said, crawling down the aisle and back towards the serving counters they had began at. He could hear Kori behind him, barely, as her palms hit the dirty linoleum floor. As quickly as he could, Dick took advantage of Wilson exploring the freezer and raced down the passageway. He could hear Wilson throwing things in the freezer. Finally, he reached the end of the row of counters and turned the corner, pressing his back against the end. Kori huddled up close to him, immediately closing her eyes and taking a deep, silent breath. They sat there in silence, feeling their hearts pounding in their chests. _Click._ The door closed. Feeling his mouth trembling, Dick turned to see where Wilson was heading. He took a right. He was coming towards them. He knew what he had to do.

"Go." He whispered at Kori, pointing her towards the first path they had taken, the one that would lead them to the pantry. They had made a full circle. Wilson would figure it out, he wouldn't just keep chasing them. They weren't going to both make it. Kori would have to go without him. She looked at him, darkened eyes wide and protesting. Dick pushed on her back, shoving her lightly in the direction of the path. He saw tears dripping from her eyes, but she started crawling forward, crying silently as she looked behind her at him. Dick waved his hand forward, wordlessly encouraging her forward faster. Tears dropped as Kori turned away from him, crawling as fast as she could. Dick could hear Wilson's footsteps matching her pace on the other side of the counter. With a deep breath, Dick timed them, until he knew he was close, and…Dick expertly stuck his foot in Wilson's direction, causing him to trip and fall. With a metallic clamor, Wilson collapsed into the serving countertop, utensils and deep trays falling all around him. Dick rolled to his side, jumping up onto his feet.

"GET BACK HERE!" Wilson roared, pushing himself up from the pile of metal he had fallen into. There was a gash on his cheek, trickling blood down onto his mouth and down the front of his neck. Dick raced forward, lunging towards the gate that would take him back into the eating area. He felt something grab at his leg. He fell on his face, feeling his nose smash into the floor as he hit the ground. Immediately, the warm surge of blood poured out of it, making him feel lightheaded and woozy. He scratched his fingernails forward, hoping to grab hold of something. When he realized nothing was there, he pushed his weight on his palms, trying to lift himself back onto his feet. He looked over his shoulder, blood dripping onto his shirt. Wilson was still trying to recover himself, doubled over on the counter. Dick got himself upright again, beginning to trot forward as best he could without getting too dizzy it causing him to feel a black, fuzzy tunnel encroaching on his vision. Wilson looked up, and saw Dick stumbling forward.

With a roar, Wilson propelled himself forward, racing after Dick. The boy turned just in time to see Wilson swinging a punch towards him. Dick ducked, but lost his balance and fell backwards, hitting his head against the oven. It sent another pulse of blood through his nostrils. He felt like he was going to throw up. He pushed himself off the ground, grabbing a baking sheet from the stovetop and hurling it in Wilson's direction. The older man dodged it, lunging forwards. He grabbed onto Dick's arm, twisting it. Dick roared as he was pulled into the counter, slamming his hip into the sharp, metallic edge, causing him to scream even louder as the pain seared through to his bone. He turned, throwing a punch in Wilson's direction. It hit him square on the jaw. Wilson howled, releasing Dick's arm. The punch had opened up the wound on his cheek a bit more. Dick took a deep breath, trying to head forward again towards the freezer. Wilson was right behind him, and grabbed a plastic crate that was used for storing lunch trays. He threw it, hitting Dick in the back of the neck and causing him to stumble. Wilson caught up to him, putting his hands around Dick's throat. He gagged, swinging his arms forward and grabbing at Wilson's hands. He was feeling hazy and couldn't pull on them with much strength. He managed to reach forward scrape his nails into Wilson's cheek, running it down his cut and seeing more blood pour out down his throat. Wilson howled again, releasing his grip. Dick rolled to his side on top of the countertop. He swung a punch in Wilson's direction, landing on his eye. He grabbed another one of the storage crates, swinging it towards his head. It hit Wilson directly again. The man was beginning to double over in pain. Dick started to move towards the freezer, hoping to round the corner and divert Wilson from the pantry in case everyone else was still taking refuge in it. As Dick stumbled around the corner, he felt Wilson's grip on his head, pulling his hair backwards. Dick slipped, collapsing to the ground. He saw Wilson hovering over him, a plastic tray in his hands. Dick twisted his hips and managed to kick Wilson in the knee, causing him to collapse forward. Dick rolled to the side to avoid the man landing on him. He scurried on his hands and knees, scrambling forward and clumsily pushing himself back onto his feet. He stumbled forward as quickly as he could, hearing Wilson get back on his feet behind him, collapsing his weight onto the metallic countertop.

He turned to check on Wilson. It was a mistake. He turned just in time for Wilson to slam the base of a blender onto Dick's head. It hit him right in the temple, and Dick collapsed in a heap in front of the row of ovens. His vision was black and fuzzy. He could see Wilson standing, wincing and grabbing his cheek. Dick could see that there was now a scarlet cascade of blood pouring out of it. But it didn't matter. Dick couldn't will his body to move anymore. He had landed heavily on his hip, and felt as if the very bones had been crushed. His nose was bleeding even faster, and little spots like distant stars were decorating the kitchen. His head was pounding like a bass line, throbbing and low. His neck was tilted to the side, and he could feel his eyes beginning to fade.

Smoke. Dick forced them open just enough to see Wilson, walking down the line of ovens, lighter in hand. His eyes forced themselves closed again. He could smell smoke. Fire. Wilson was lighting the kitchen on fire. He was rapidly going unconscious. He was going to die in here, burn to death. He fought hard to try to force his eyes open, force his legs to move upwards. He could feel his feet twitching, but no matter how hard he willed movement, it wouldn't happen past the twitching in his feet. Dick could smell the smoke even stronger now. His right eyelid barely released its grip, twittering open just long enough to see Wilson pushing past the gate that led into the kitchens and back towards the double doors leading to the cafeteria. The entire far wall was ablaze with black smoke and orange flames. Dick closed his eyes again. This was it. His whole head was ringing…then again, maybe that was the smoke alarm. He could hear its dingy blaring somewhere that felt far away in his throat. He could feel the reverberations in his Adam's apple. He felt it getting quieter and quieter as he dipped even further from consciousness. He tried his hardest to hold onto it, feeling the reverberations of his head, the smoke alarm, and then…the PA system.

A/N: Read and review please! (you know reviews are the bread and butter of my life here). Also, in your review, please let me know if you would be interested in reading another suspense story if I wrote one….Thanks! Peace and rock on,

Earth Blues Baby


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